IRLF 


GIFT   OF 

K/'   fi 


ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND, 


JACOB    ABBOTT. 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED   BY  TAGGARD  AND   THOMPSON 

M  DCCC  LXIV. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congrew,  in  the  year  1854,  oy 

JACOB   ABBOTT 
la  the  Clerk's  Offlc*  of  the  District  Court  of  the  DUtriet  of  Massachusetts 


•  TEREOTTPEl)    AT     THB 
BOSTON     STEREOTYPE     KODNDi 

RIVERSIDE,    'CAMBRIDGE  : 

PRINTED    BY 
HENRY   O.    HOU«HTON. 


CONTENTS- 

HArTEB  *"• 

I. —  GETTING  A  PASSPORT, 

II.  —  CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER, 

III.  — BASLE, 

IV.— THE  DILIGENCE, 

V.  —  RIDE  TO  BERNE,  ....      72 

VI.  — THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  AAR,     ....      85 

VII.  —  INTERLACHEN, ] 

VIII— LAUTERBUNNEN, ] 

IX.  —  THE  WENGERN  ALP, 13G 

X.— GOING  DOWN  THE  MOUNTAIN,         .        .        .168 

XI. —  GLACIERS, ] 

XII  —  KOLLO  A  COURIER, 196 

XIII.  —  CONCLUSION, 22° 


ENGRAVINGS. 

MONT   BLANC,  (FRONTISPIECE.)  PAGE 

THE  COTTAGE, 10 

THE  PREFECTURE  OF  POLICE, 25 

IN  THE  CAR *J 

THE  DILIGENCE  AT  THE  OFFICE,    .... 

THE  DILIGENCE  ON  THE  ROAD, 

THE  LAKE  SHORE 9? 

VICINITY   OF   INTERLACHEN, 

THE  MOUNTAIN  GIRL 14? 

THE  FALL, l73 

1 09 

THE  CREVASSE, ia^ 

THE  NARROW  PATH, 

ASCENT  OF  MONT  BLANC, 193 

(7) 


438891 


OBDEB,  OF  THE  VOLUMES 

ROLLO  ON  THE  ATLANTIC. 
ROLLO  IN  PARIS. 
ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 
ROLLO  IN  LONDON. 
ROLLO  ON  THE  RHINE. 
ROLLO  IN  SCOTLAND. 
ROLLO  IN  GENEVA. 
ROLLO  IN  HOLLAND. 
ROLLO  IN  NAPLES. 
ROLLO  IN  ROME. 


PBINCIPAL  PEBSONS  OP  THE  STORY. 

ROLLO  ;  twelve  years  of  age. 

ME.  and  MRS.  HOLIDAY  ;  Rollo's  father  and  mother,  travelling  in 

Europe. 

THANNY  ;  Rollo's  younger  brother. 
JANE  ;  Rollo's  cousin,  adopted  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holiday. 
MB.  GEOBGE  j  a  young  gentleman,  Rollo's  uncle. 

(8) 


ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

CHAPTER   I. 
GETTING  A  PASSPORT. 

The  passport  system.  Theory  of  government. 

THE  last  day  that  Rollo  spent  in  Paris,  before 
he  set  out  on  his  journey  into  Switzerland, 
he  had  an  opportunity  to  acquire,  by  actual  expe 
rience,   some   knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the 
passport  system. 

Before  commencing  the  narrative  of  the  ad 
ventures  which  he  met  with,  it  is  necessary  to 
premise  that  no  person  can  travel  among  the 
different  states  and  kingdoms  on  the  continent 
of  Europe  without  what  is  called  a  passport. 
The  idea  which  prevails  among  all  the  govern 
ments  of  the  continent  is,  that  the  people  of 
each  country  are  the  subjects  of  the  sovereign 
reigning  there,  and  in  some  sense  belong  to 
him.  They  cannot  leave  their  country  without 
the  written  permission  of  the  government,  nor 

(in 


12.  ;  t.  JEfcpM-'O.  IN  .^SWITZERLAND. 

-V,  t  -  4*  *  V  •  •    J    '  •  ;  t „ ;  '  *  *„  ' ,  ^ i 

*     TTie'stamps.*  Difficulties  of  the  inexperienced  traveller. 

can  they  enter  any  other  one  without  showing 
this  permission  and  having  it  approved  and 
stamped  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  country  to 
which  they  wish  to  go.  There  are,  for  example, 
at  Paris  ministers  of  all  the  different  govern 
ments  of  Europe,  residing  in  different  parts  of 
the  city  ;  and  whoever  wishes  to  leave  France,  to 
go  into  any  other  kingdom,  must  first  go  with  his 
passport  to  the  ministers  of  the  countries  which 
he  intends  to  visit  and  get  them  to  put  their 
stamp  upon  it.  This  stamp  represents  the  per 
mission  of  the  government  whose  minister  affixes 
it  that  the  traveller  may  enter  the  territory 
under  their  jurisdiction.  Besides  this,  it  is 
necessary  to  get  permission  from  the  authorities 
of  Paris  to  leave  the  city.  Nobody  can  leave 
France  without  this.  This  permission,  too,  like 
the  others,  is  given  by  a  stamp  upon  the  pass 
port.  To  get  this  stamp,  the  traveller  must  carry 
or  send  his  passport  to  the  great  central  police 
office  of  Paris,  called  the  prefecture  of  police. 
Now,  as  the  legations  of  the  different  govern 
ments  and  the  prefecture  of  police  are  situ 
ated  at  very  considerable  distances  from  each 
other  about  the  city,  and  as  it  usually  takes 
some  time  to  transact  the  business  at  each  office, 
and  especially  as  the  inexperienced  traveller 
often  makes  mistakes  and  goes  to  the  wrong 


GETTING  A  PASSPORT.  13 

A  little  tour  in  Switzerland.  Shall  Rollo  go  ? 

place,  or  gets  at  the  right  place  at  the  wrong 
hour,  it  usually  requires  a  whole  day,  and  some 
times  two  days,  to  get  his  passport  all  right  so 
as  to  allow  of  his  setting  out  upon  his  journey. 
These  explanations  are  necessary  to  enable  the 
reader  to  understand  what  I  now  proceed  to 
relate  in  respect  to  Rollo. 

One  morning,  while  Rollo  and  Jennie  were  at 
breakfast  with  their  father  and  mother,  Rollo's 
uncle  George  came  in  and  said  that  he  had  con 
cluded  to  go  and  make  a  little  tour  in  Switzer 
land.  "  I  shall  have  three  weeks,"  said  he,  "  if 
I  can  get  away  to-morrow ;  and  that  will  give 
me  time  to  take  quite  a  little  run  among  the 
mountains.  I  have  come  now  to  see  if  you  will 
let  Rollo  go  with  me." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Rollo,  very  eagerly,  and  rising- 
at  once  from  his  chair.  "  Yes,  sir.  Let  me  go 
with  him.  That's  exactly  the  thing.  Yes,  sir.'7 

"  Have  you  any  objection  ? "  said  Mr.  Holi 
day,  quietly,  turning  towards  Rollo's  mother. 

"No,"  said  Mrs.  Holiday,  speaking,  however, 
in  a  very  doubtful  tone,  —  "  no  ;  I  don't  know 
that  I  have  —  any  great  objection." 

"Whatever  doubt  and  hesitation  Mrs.  Holiday 
might  have  had  on  the  subject  was  dispelled 
when  she  came  to  look  at  Rollo  and  see  how 
eager  and  earnest  he  was  in  his  desire  to  go. 
So  she  gave  her  definitive  consent. 


14          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Rollo's  allowance.  Twenty-five  Napoleons. 

"  How  long  do  you  think  you  will  be  gone  ?  n 
said  Mr.  Holiday. 

"Three  weeks,  nearly,"  replied  Mr.  George. 
"  Say  twenty  days." 

"  And  how  much  do  you  suppose  it  will  cost 
you  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Holiday. 

"  I  have  made  a  calculation,"  said  Mr.  George  ; 
"  and  I  think  it  will  cost  me,  if  I  go  alone,  about 
twenty-five  francs  a  day  for  the  whole  time. 
There  would,  however,  be  a  considerable  saving 
in  some  things  if  two  go  together." 

"  Then  I  will  allow  you,  Rollo,"  replied  Mr. 
Holiday,  looking  towards  Rollo,  "  twenty-five 
francs  a  day  for  this  excursion.  If  you  spend 
any  more  than  that,  you  must  take  it  out  of 
your  past  savings.  If  you  do  not  spend  it  all, 
what  is  left  when  you  come  back  is  yours." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  think  that  will  be 
a  great  plenty." 

"  Twenty -five  francs  a  day  for  twenty  days," 
continued  Mr.  Holiday,  "  is  five  hundred  francs, 
Bring  me  that  bag  of  gold,  Rollo,  out  of  my 
secretary.  Here  is  the  key." 

So  Rollo  brought  out  the  gold,  and  Mr.  Holi 
day  took  from  it  twenty-five  Napoleons.  These 
he  put  in  Rollo's  purse. 

"  There,"  said  Mr.  Holiday,  "  that's  all  I  can 
do  for  you.  For  the  rest  you  must  take  care  of 
yourself." 


GETTING   A  PASSPORT.  15 

A  ride.  Hollo  takes  charge  of  the  passports. 

"  How  long  will  it  take  you  to  pack  your 
trunk  ?  "  said  Mr.  George. 

"  Five  minutes,"  said  Rollo,  promptly,  standing 
up  erect  as  he  said  it  and  buttoning  his  jacket 
up  to  his  chin. 

"  Then  put  on  your  cap  and  come  with  me," 
said  Mr.  George. 

Rollo  did  so.  He  followed  Mr.  George  down 
stairs  to  the  door,  and  they  both  got  into  a 
small  carriage  which  Mr.  George  had  waiting 
there  and  drove  away  together  towards  Mr. 
George's  hotel. 

"Now,  Rollo,"  said  Mr.  George,  "I  have  got  a 
great  deal  to  do  to-day,  and  there  are  our  pass 
ports  to  be  stamped.  I  wonder  if  you  could  not 
attend  to  that." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  if  you  will  only  tell  me 
what  is  to  be  done." 

"  I  don't  myself  know  what  is  to  be  done," 
said  Mr.  George.  "That's  the  difficulty.  And 
I  have  not  time  to  find  out.  I  have  got  as  much 
as  I  can  possibly  do  until  four  o'clock  ;  and  then 
the  office  of  the  prefecture  of  police  is  closed. 
Now,  if  you  can  take  the  passports  and  find  out 
what  is  to  be  done,  and  do  it,  then  we  can  go 
to-morrow  ;  otherwise  we  must  wait  till  next 
day." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  I'll  try." 


16          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Mr.  George's  directions.  Advice. 

"  You  will  find  the  passports,  then,  on  my 
table  at  the  hotel.  I  am  going  to  g<3t  out  at 
the  next  street  and  take  another  carriage  to  go 
in  another  direction.  You  can  keep  this  car 
riage." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Rollo. 

"  You  may  make  inquiries  of  any  body  you 
please,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  except  your  father 
and  mother.  We  must  not  trouble  your  father 
with  any  business  of  any  kind  till  he  gets  en 
tirely  well  ;  and  your  mother  would  not  know 
any  thing  about  it  at  all.  Perhaps  the  master 
of  the  hotel  can  tell  you.  You  had  better  ask 
him,  at  any  rate." 

Here  Mr.  George  pulled  the  string  for  the 
carriage  to  stop,  as  they  had  arrived  at  the  cor 
ner  of  the  street  where  he  was  to  get  out.  The 
coachman  drew  up  to  the  sidewalk  and  stopped. 
Mr.  George  opened  the  door  and  stepped  out 
upon  the  curbstone,  and  then  said,  as  he  shut  the 
door, — 

"Well,  good  by,  Rollo.  I  hope  you  will 
have  good  luck.  But,  whatever  happens,  keep  a 
quiet  mind,  and  don't  allow  yourself  to  feel  per 
plexed  or  troubled.  If  you  don't  succeed  in 
getting  the  passports  ready  to-day  we  can  at 
tend  to  them  to-morrow  and  then  go  the  next 
day,  which  will  answer  nearly  as  well." 


GETTING  A  PASSPORT.  17 

Rollo  gjoes  for  Carlos.  The  courier. 

Then,  directing  the  coachman  to  drive  to  the 
hotel,  Mr.  George  walked  rapidly  away. 

When  Rollo  reached  the  hotel  he  got  the  key 
of  his  uncle  George's  room,  at  the  porter's  lodge, 
and  went  immediately  up  to  see  if  the  passports 
were  there.  He  found  them,  as  his  uncle  had 
said,  lying  on  the  table. 

"  Now,"  said  Rollo,  "  the  first  thing  I'll  do  is 
to  find  Carlos  and  see  if  he  will  go  and  help  me 
get  the  passports  stamped."  * 

So,  taking  the  passports  in  his  hand,  he  went 
along  the  corridor  till  he  came  to  the  door  lead 
ing  to  the  apartments  where  Carlos  lodged. 
There  was  a  bell  hanging  by  the  side  of  the 
door.  Rollo  pulled  this  cord,  and  presently  the 
courier  came  to  the  door.f  Rollo  inquired  for 
Carlos,  and  the  courier  said  that  he  would  go 
and  get  him.  In  the  mean  time  the  courier 
asked  Rollo  to  step  in  and  take  a  seat.  So 
Rollo  went  in.  The  room  that  he  entered  was 
a  small  one,  and  was  used  as  an  antechamber  to 
the  apartment ;  and  it  was  very  neatly  and  pleas- 

*  Carlos  was  a  Spanish  boy,  who  was  residing  at  this  time  at 
the  same  hotel  with  Mr.  George.  The  manner  in  which  Rollo 
became  acquainted  with  him  is  related  in  Rollo  in  Paris.  Carlos 
did  not  understand  English,  nor  Rollo  Spanish ;  but  when  they 
T<rere  together  they  usually  kept  talking  all  the  time,  each  in  his 
(mm  way. 

t  A  courier  is  a  travelling  servant  and  guide. 

2 


18         HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Hollo's  invitation.  Carlos  accepts  it. 

antly  furnished  for  such  a  purpose.  There  were 
a  sofa  and  several  chairs,  and  maps  and  pictures 
on  the  walls,  and  a  table  with  writing  materials 
on  it  in  the  centre.  Rollo  sat  down  upon  the 
Bofa.  In  a  few  minutes  Carlos  came. 

"  Look  here!"  said  Hollo,  rising  when  Carlos 
came  in.  "  See  these  passports  !  We're  going 
to  get  them  stamped.  Will  you  go  with  me  ?  I 
have  got  a  carriage  at  the  door." 

Here  Hollo  made  a  sort  of  whirling  motion 
with  his  hand,  advancing  it  forward  at  the  same 
time  as  it  rolled,  to  indicate  the  motion  of  a 
wheel.  This  was  to  signify  to  Carlos  that  they 
were  going  in  a  carriage. 

All  that  Carlos  understood  was,  that  Rollo 
was  going  somewhere,  and  that  he  wished  him, 
Carlos,  to  go  too.  He  seemed  very  much  pleased 
with  his  invitation,  and  went  eagerly  back  into 
the  inner  apartments.  He  returned  in  a  very 
few  minutes  with  his  cap  in  his  hand,  evidently 
all  ready  to  go. 

"  Now,"  said  Rollo,  as  they  went  out  of  the 
antechamber  together,  "  the  first  thing  is  to  go 
and  ask  the  master  of  the  hotel  what  we  are 
to  do." 

There  was  a  very  pleasant  little  room  on  the 
lower  floor,  on  one  side  of  the  archway  which 
formed  the  entrance  into  the  court  of  the  hotel 


GETTING  A  PASSPORT.  19 

The  master  of  the  hotel.  His  dhections. 

from  the  street,  that  served  the  purpose  of  par 
lor,  sitting  room,  counting  room,  and  office. 
Thus  it  was  used  both  by  the  master  of  the 
hotel  himself  and  by  his  family.  There  was  a 
desk  at  one  side,  where  the  master  usually  sat, 
with  his  books  and  papers  before  him.  At  the 
other  side,  near  a  window,  his  wife  was  often 
seated  at  her  sewing  ;.  and  there  were  frequently 
two  or  three  little  children  playing  about  the 
floor  with  little  wagons,  or  tops,  or  other  toys. 
Rollo  went  to  this  room,  occupying  himself  as  he 
descended  the  stairs  in  trying  to  make  up  a 
French  sentence  that  would  ask  his  question  in 
the  shortest  and  simplest  manner. 

He  went  in,  and,  going  to  the  desk,  held  out 
his  passports  to  the  man  who  was  sitting  there, 
and  said,  in  French, — 

"  Passports.  To  Switzerland.  Where  to  go 
to  get  them  stamped  ?  " 

11  Ah,"  said  the  master  of  the  hotel,  taking 
the  passports  in  his  hand.  "Yes,  yes,  yes.  You 
must  get  them  stamped.  You  must  go  to  the 
Swiss  legation  and  to  the  prefecture  of  police." 

Here  Rollo  pointed  to  a  piece  of  paper  that 
was  lying  on  the  desk  and  made  signs  of 
writing. 

"  Ah,  yes,  yes,  yes,"  said  the  man.  "  I  will 
write  you  the  address." 


20  ROLLO  IN   SWITZERLAND. 

The  memorandum.  Rule  for  travellers. 

So  the  man  took  a  piece  of  paper  and  wrote 
upon  the  top  of  it  the  words  "prefecture  of 
police/'  saying,  as  he  wrote  it,  that  every  coach 
man  knew  where  that  was.  Then,  underneath,  he 
wrote  the  name  of  the  street  and  number  where 
the  Swiss  legation  was ;  and,  having  done  this, 
he  gave  the  paper  to  Hollo. 

Rollo  took  the  memorandum,  and,  thanking 
the  man  for  his  information,  led  Carlos  out  to 
the  carriage. 

"  Come,  Carlos,"  said  he  ;  "  now  we  are  ready. 
I  know  where  to  go  ;  but  I  don't  know  at  all 
what  we  are  to  do  when  we  get  there.  But  then 
we  shall  find  some  other  people  there,  I  suppose, 
getting  their  passports  stamped  ;  and  we  can  do 
as  they  do." 

Rollo  had  learned  to  place  great  reliance  on 
the  rule  which  his  uncle  George  had  given  for 
his  guidance  in  travelling  ;  namely,  to  do  as  he 
saw  other  people  do.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  very 
excellent  rule. 

Carlos  got  into  the  carriage ;  while  Rollo, 
looking  upon  the  paper  in  order  to  be  sure  that 
he  understood  the  words  right,  said,  "  To  the 
prefecture  of  police." 

The  coachman  said,  "  Yes,  yes ; "  and  Rollo 
got  into  the  coach.  The  coachman,  without 
leaving  his  seat,  reached  his  arm  down  and 
fastened  the  door  and  then  drove  away. 


GETTING  A  PASSPORT.  21 

Scene  in  Paris.  The  island. 

He  drove  on  through  various  crowded  streets, 
which  seemed  to  lead  in  towards  the  heart  of 
the  city,  until  at  last  the  carriage  came  to  the 
river.  Rollo  and  Carlos  looked  out  and  saw 
the  bridges,  and  the  parapet  wall  which  formed 
the  river  side  of  the  street,  with  the  book  stalls, 
and  picture  stalls,  and  cake  and  fruit  booths 
which  had  been  established  along  the  side  of  it, 
and  the  monstrous  bathing  houses  which  lay 
floating  on  the  water  below,  all  gayly  painted 
and  adorned  with  flags  and  little  parterres  of 
flowers  ;  and  the  washing  houses,  with  their  long 
rows  of  windows,  down  close  to  the  water,  all 
filled  with  women,  who  were  washing  clothes  by 
alternately  plunging  them  in  the  water  of  the 
river  and  then  banging  them  with  clubs.  These 
and  a  great  many  other  similar  objects  attracted 
their  attention  as  they  rode  along. 

If  the  reader  of  this  book  has  the  opportunity 
to  look  at  a  map  of  Paris,  he  will  see  that  the 
River  Seine,  in  passing  through  the  town,  forms 
two  channels,  which  separate  from  each  other  so 
as  to  leave  quite  a  large  island  between  them. 
This  island  is  completely  covered  with  streets 
and  buildings,  some  of  which  are  very  ancient 
and  venerable.  Here  is  the  great  Cathedral 
Church  of  Notre  Dame  ;  also  the  vast  hospital 
called  Hotel  Dieu,  where  twelve  thousand  sick 


22          HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  prefecture  of  police.  Its  exterior. 

persons  are  received  and  taken  care  of  every 
year.  Here  also  is  the  prefecture  of  police  — 
an  enormous  establishment,  with  courts,  quad 
rangles,  ranges,  offices,  and  officers  without  num 
ber.  In  this  establishment  the  records  are  kept 
and  the  business  is  transacted  relating  to  all  the 
departments  of  the  police  of  the  city  ;  so  that 
it  is  of  itself  quite  a  little  town. 

The  first  indication  which  Hollo  had  that  he 
had  arrived  at  the  place  was  the  turning  in  of 
the  coach  under  an  arch,  which  opened  in  the 
middle  of  a  very  sombre  and  antique-looking 
edifice.  The  carriage,  after  passing  through 
the  arch,  came  into  a  court,  where  there  were 
many  other  carriages  standing.  Soldiers  were 
seen  too,  some  coming  and  going  and  others 
standing  guard.  The  carriage  passed  through 
this  court,  and  then,  going  under  another  arch 
between  two  ponderous  iron  gates,  it  came  into 
another  court,  much  larger  than  the  first.  There 
were  a  great  many  carriages  in  this  court,  some 
moving  in  or  out  and  others  waiting.  Rollo's 
carriage  drove  up  to  the  farthest  corner  of  the 
court ;  and  there  the  coachman  stopped  and 
opened  the  door.  Rollo  got  out.  Carlos  fol 
lowed  him. 

"Where  do  you  suppose  we  are  to  go,  Car 
los?"  said  he.  "Stop;  I  can  see  by  the  signs 


GETTING  A  PASSPORT.  23 

Its  interior.  "  Your  cap,  young  gentleman." 

over  the  doors.  Here  it  is.  "  Passports."  This 
must  be  the  place.  We  will  go  in  here." 

Rollo  accordingly  went  in,  Carlos  timidly 
following  him.  After  crossing  a  sort  of  passage 
way,  he  opened  another  door,  which  ushered  him 
at  once  into  a  very  large  hall,  the  aspect  of 
which  quite  bewildered  him.  There  were  a  great 
many  desks  and  tables  about  the  hall,  with  clerks 
writing  at  them,  and  people  coming  and  going 
with  passports  and  permits  in  their  hands. 
Rollo  stepped  forward  into  the  room,  surveying 
the  scene  with  great  curiosity  and  wonder,  when 
his  attention  was  suddenly  arrested  by  the  voice 
of  a  soldier,  who  rose  suddenly  from  his  chair, 
and  said,  — 

"  Your  cap,  young  gentleman." 

Rollo  immediately  recollected  that  he  had  his 
cap  on,  while  all  the  other  people  in  the  room 
were  uncovered.  He  took  his  cap  off  at  once, 
saying  to  the  soldier  at  the  same  time,  "  Pardon, 
sir,"  which  is  the  French  mode  of  making  an 
apology  in  such  cases.  The  soldier  then  re 
sumed  his  seat,  and  Rollo  and  Carlos  walked  on 
slowly  up  the  hall. 

Nobody  took  any  notice  of  them.  In  fact, 
every  one  seemed  busy  with  his  own  concerns, 
except  that  in  one  part  of  the  room  there  were 
several  benches  where  a  number  of  men  and 


24         ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

What  to  do  next  ?  Hollo  hands  in  hia  passports. 

women  were  sitting  as  if  they  were  waiting  fo11 
something. 

Rollo  advanced  towards  these  seats,  saying  to 
Carlos,  — 

"  Carlos,  let  us  sit  down  here  a  minute  or  two 
till  we  can  think  what  we  had  better  do.  We 
can  sit  here,  I  know.  These  benches  must  be 
for  any  body." 

As  soon  as  Rollo  had  taken  his  seat  and  be 
gan  to  cast  his  eyes  about  the  room,  he  observed 
that  among  the  other  desks  there  was  one  with 
the  words,  "  for  foreigners,"  upon  it,  in  large, 
gilt  letters. 

"  Carlos,"  said  he,  pointing  to  it,  "  that  must 
be  the  place  for  us.  We  are  foreigners  :  let  us 
go  there.  We  will  give  the  passports  to  the 
man  in  that  little  pew." 

So  Rollo  rose,  and,  followed  by  Carlos,  he 
went  to  the  place.  There  was  a  long  desk,  with 
two  or  three  clerks  behind  it,  writing.  At  the 
end  of  this  desk  was  a  small  enclosure,  where  a 
man  sat  who  looked  as  though  he  had  some  au 
thority.  People  would  give  him  their  passports, 
and  he  would  write  something  on  them  and  then 
pass  them  over  to  the  clerks.  Rollo  waited  a 
moment  and  then  handed  his  passports  in.  The 
man  took  them,  looked  over  them  and  then  gave 
them  back  to  Rollo,  saying  something  in  French 


GETTING  A  PASSPORT. 


25 


They  are  returned  to  him. 


A  difficulty 


which  Hollo  did  not  understand,  and  immediate 
ly  passed  to  the  next  in  order. 

"  What  did  he  say  ?  "  said  Rollo,  turning  to 
Carlos. 


THE    PREFECTURE    OF    POLICE. 


"  What's  the  reason  he  won't  take  your  pass 
ports?"  said  Carlos. 

Although  Rollo  did  not  understand  what  the 
official  said  at  the  time  of  his  speaking,  still 
the  words  left  a  trace  upon  his  ear,  and  in  think* 


26          EOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Rollo  and  Carlos  go  in  search  of  the  American  legation. 

ing  upon  them  he  recalled  the  words  "American 
legation,"  and  also  the  word  "afterwards."  While 
he  was  musing  on  the  subject,  quite  perplexed, 
a  pleasant-looking  girl,  who  was  standing  there 
waiting  for  her  turn,  explained  to  him  —  speak 
ing  very  slow  in  French,  for  she  perceived  that 
Hollo  was  a  foreigner  —  as  follows:  — 

"  He  says  that  you  must  go  first  and  get  your 
passports  stamped  at  the  American  legation, 
and  afterwards  come  here." 

"  Where  is  the  American  legation  ? "  said 
Rollo. 

"  I  don't  know/7  said  the  girl. 

"Then  I'll  make  the  coachman  find  it  for 
me,"  said  Rollo.  "  Come,  Carlos  ;  we  must  go 
back." 

So  saying,  he  thanked  the  girl  for  her  kind 
ness,  and  the  two  boys  went  out.  As  he  was 
going  out  Rollo  made  up  a  French  sentence  to 
say  to  the  coachman  that  he  must  drive  to  the 
American  legation,  and  that  he  must  find  out 
where  it  was  himself.  He  succeeded  in  commu 
nicating  these  directions  to  the  coachman,  and 
then  he  and  Carlos  got  into  the  carriage  and 
drove  away. 

The  coachman  had  some  difficulty  in  learning 
where  the  American  legation  was,  which  occa 
sioned  some  delay.  Besides,  the  distance  was 


GETTING  A  PASSPORT.  27 

Just  in  time.  The  secretary. 

considerable.  It  was  nearly  two  miles  to  the 
place  from  the  prefecture  of  police  ;  so  that 
it  was  some  time  before  the  carriage  arrived 
there.  In  fact,  Rollo  had  a  very  narrow  escape 
in  this  stage  of  the  affair  ;  for  he  arrived  at  the 
American  legation  only  about  five  minutes  be 
fore  the  office  was  to  be  closed  for  the  day. 
When  he  went  to  the  porter's  lodge  to  ask  if 
that  was  the  place  where  the  office  of  the  Ameri 
can  legation  was  held,  the  woman  who  kept  the 
lodge,  and  who  was  standing  just  outside  the 
door  at  the  time,  instead  of  answering,  went  in 
to  look  at  the  clock. 

"  Ah,"  said  she,  "  you  are  just  in  time.  I 
thought  you  were  too  late.  Second  story,  right- 
hand  door." 

"  There's  one  thing  good  about  the  American 
legation,  Carlos,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  and  that  is,  that 
they  can  talk  English,  I  suppose." 

This  was,  indeed,  a  great  advantage.  Rollo 
found,  when  he  went  into  the  office  of  the  lega 
tion,  that  the  secretary  not  only  could  talk 
English,  but  that  he  was  a  very  kindhearted 
and  agreeable  man.  He  talked  with  Rollo  in 
English  and  with  Carlos  in  Spanish.  Both  the 
boys  were  very  much  pleased  with  the  reception 
they  met  with.  The  necessary  stamps  were 
promptly  RJfixed  to  the  passports  ;  and  then  the 


28          HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  Swiss  legation. 

boys,  giving  the  secretary  both  an  English  and 
a  Spanish  good  by,  went  down  stairs  to  the 
carriage  again.  They  directed  the  coachman 
to  drive  as  quick  as  possible  to  the  Swiss  lega 
tion,  showing  him  the  address  which  Rollo's 
uncle  had  given  them.  They  then  got  into  the 
carriage,  and  the  coachman  drove  away. 

"  Now,  Carlos/7  said  Rollo,  "  we  are  all  right ; 
that  is,  if  we  only  get  to  the  Swiss  legation  be 
fore  it  is  shut  up." 

"He  said  he  had  been  in  Madrid/7  rejoined 
Carlos.  "  He  was  there  three  months.77 

"  I  believe/7  added  Rollo,  "  that  uncle  George 
said  it  did  not  close  till  three ;  and  it  is  only 
two  now.77 

"  And  he  knew  the  street  my  father  lived  in 
very  well/7  said  Carlos. 

Very  soon  the  carriage  stopped  at  the  place 
which  the  coachman  said  was  the  Swiss  legation. 
Rollo  got  out  and  went  to  the  porter's  lodge 
with  the  passports  in  his  hand.  The  woman  in 
charge  knew  at  once  what  he  wanted,  and,  with 
out  waiting  to  hear  him  finish  the  question  which 
he  began  to  ask,  directed  him  "to  the  second 
story  on  the  right.77 

Rollo  went  up  the  staircase  till  he  came  to 
the  door,  and  there  pulled  the  cord. 

A  clerk  opened  the  door.  Rollo  held  out  the 
passports. 


GETTING  A  PASSPORT.  29 

Waiting  in  the  office  of  the  prefecture  of  police. 

"Enter  there,"  said  the  clerk,  in  French, 
pointing  to  an  inner  door. 

Rollo  went  in  and  found  there  a  very  pleas 
ant  little  room,  with  cases  of  books  and  papers 
around  it,  and  maps  and  plans  of  Switzerland 
and  of  Swiss  towns  upon  the  wall.  The  clerk 
took  the  passports  and  asked  the  boys  to  sit 
down.  In  a  few  minutes  the  proper  stamps  were 
affixed  to  them  both  and  the  proper  signatures 
added.  The  clerk  then  said  that  there  was  the 
sum  of  six  francs  to  pay.  Rollo  paid  the  money, 
and  then  he  and  Carlos  went  down  stairs. 

They  now  returned  to  the  prefecture  of  police. 
They  went  in  as  they  had  done  before,  and  gave 
the  passports  to  the  man  who  was  seated  in  the 
little  enclosure  in  the  foreigner's  part  of  the 
room.  He  took  them,  examined  the  new  stamps 
which  had  been  put  upon  them,  and  then  said, 
"  Very  well.  Take  a  seat  a  little  minute." 

Rollo  and  Carlos  sat  down  upon  one  of  the 
benches  to  wait ;  but  the  little  minute  proved 
to  be  nearly  half  an  hour.  They  were  not  tired 
of  waiting,  however,  there  was  so  much  to 
amuse  and  interest  them  going  on  in  the  room. 

"  I  am  going  to  watch  and  see  what  the  for 
eigners  do  to  get  their  passports,"  said  Rollo,  in 
an  undertone,  to  Carlos  ;  "  for  we  must  do  the 


30          HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Rollo  watches  the  process.  Success. 

In  thus  watching,  Rollo  observed  that  from 
time  to  time  a  name  was  called  by  one  of  the 
clerks  behind  the  desk,  and  then  some  of  the 
persons  waiting  on  the  seats  would  rise  and  go 
to  the  place.  After  stopping  there  a  few  min 
utes,  he  would  take  his  passport  and  carry  it 
into  an  inner  room  to  another  desk,  where  some 
thing  was  done  to  it.  Then  he  would  bring  it 
out  to  another  place,  where  it  was  stamped  once 
or  twice  by  a  man  who  seemed  to  have  nothing 
else  to  do  but  to  stamp  every  body's  passport 
when  they  came  out.  By  watching  this  process 
in  the  case  of  the  others,  Rollo  knew  exactly 
what  to  do  when  his  name  was  called ;  so  that, 
in  about  half  an  hour  from  the  time  that  he  went 
into  the  office,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  coming 
out  and  getting  into  his  carriage  with  the  pass 
ports  all  in  order  for  the  journey  to  Switzerland. 

When  he  got  home  and  showed  them  to  Mr. 
George,  his  uncle  looked  them  over  carefully  ; 
and,  when  he  found  that  the  stamp  of  the  police 
was  duly  affixed  to  them  both,  —  knowing,  as  he 
did,  that  these  would  not  be  put  on  till  all  the 
others  were  right,  —  he  said,  — 

"  Well,  Rollo,  you've  done  it,  I  declare.  I  did 
not  think  you  were  so  much  of  a  man," 


CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER.         31 


The  map  of  France. 


C  HAPTER  II. 
CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER. 

ON  the  morning  when  Mr.  George  and  Hollo 
were  about  setting  out  for  Switzerland,  Hollo, 
having  got  every  thing  ready  himself  half  an 
hour  before  the  time,  took  out  his  map  of  Eu 
rope  and  asked  his  uncle  George  what  route 
they  were  going  to  take.  Mr.  George  was  busy 
at  that  time  putting  the  last  things  into  his 
trunk  and  making  ready  to  lock  it  up  and  strap 
it ;  so  he  could  not  come  to  Hollo  to  show  him 
the  route,  but  was  obliged  to  describe  it. 

"  Have  you  found  Paris  ?  "  said  he. 

"Yes,"  said  Hollo;  "I  have  got  my  finger 
on  it." 

"In  the  first  place,  then,"  said  Mr.  George, 
"  there  is  a  railway  that  goes  east  from  Paris  a 
hundred  miles  across  France  to  Strasbourg  on 
the  Rhine.  See  if  you  can  find  Strasbourg  on 
the  Rhine." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hollo  ;  "  here  it  is." 

"  Then,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  we  take  another 


32          ROLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Which  way  is  up  the  Rhine  ?  Starting. 

railway  and  go  south,  up  the  Rhine,  towards 
Switzerland." 

"  Down  the  Rhine,"  said  Rollo,  correcting  hi? 
uncle  ;  "  it  is  down." 

"  No,"  rejoined  Mr.  George.  "  It  is  down  on 
the  map  ;  that  is,  it  is  down  the  page  ;  but  it  is 
really  up  the  river.  The  Rhine  flows  to  the 
north.  It  collects  the  waters  of  a  hundred 
glaciers  in  Switzerland  and  carries  them  north 
into  the  North  Sea." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo. 

"  This  railway,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  will 
take  us  up  from  Strasbourg,  along  the  bank  of 
the  Rhine,  to  Basle,  which  is  in  Switzerland,  just 
across  the  frontier.  It  is  there,  I  suppose,  that 
we  shall  have  to  show  our  passports  ;  and  then 
we  shall  know  if  you  got  them  stamped  right." 

"I  did  get  them  stamped  right,  I  am  very 
sure,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Boys  are  generally  very  sure  that  what  they 
do  is  done  right,"  rejoined  Mr.  George. 

Soon  after  this  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  took 
their  seats  in  the  carriage,  which  had  been  for 
some  time  standing  ready  for  them  in  the  court 
yard  of  the  inn,  and  drove  to  the  Strasbourg 
station. 

Rollo  was  greatly  interested  and  excited,  when 
he  arrived  at  the  Strasbourg  station,  to  see  how 


CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER.         33 

The  fine  appearance  of  the  Strasbourg  station. 

extensive  and  magnificent  it  was.  The  carriage 
entered,  with  a  train  of  other  carriages,  through 
a  great  iron  gate  and  drew  up  at  the  front  of  a 
very  spacious  and  grand-looking  building.  Por 
ters,  dressed  in  a  sort  of  uniform,  which  gave 
(hern  in  some  degree  the  appearance  of  soldiers, 
were  ready  to  take  the  two  trunks  and  carry 
them  in.  The  young  gentlemen  followed  the 
porters,  and  they  soon  found  themselves  ushered 
into  an  immense  hall,  very  neatly  and  prettily 
arranged,  with  great  maps  of  the  various  rail 
ways  painted  on  the  walls  between  the  windows 
on  the  front  side,  and  openings  on  the  back  side 
leading  to  ticket  offices  or  waiting  rooms.  There 
were  seats  along  the  sides  of  this  hall,  with 
groups  of  neatly-dressed  travellers  sitting  upon 
them.  Other  travellers  were  walking  about,  at 
tending  to  their  baggage  or  making  inquiries 
of  the  porter  or  policemen.  Others  still  were 
standing  at  the  openings  of  the  ticket  offices 
buying  their  tickets.  What  chiefly  struck  Rol- 
lo's  attention,  however,  and  impressed  his  mind, 
was  the  air  of  silence,  order,  and  decorum  which 
prevailed  and  which  gave  to  the  station  an 
aspect  so  different  from  that  of  an  American 
station.  It  is  true,  the  hall  was  very  large,  and 
there  were  a  great  many  people  in  it  going  and 
coming  ;  but  they  all  walked  decorously  and 
3 


84          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

A  travelling  party.  The  black  dog  with  a  silver  collar. 

quietly,  —  they  spoke  in  an  undertone,  —  and 
the  presence  of  so  many  railway  officials  in  their 
several  uniforms,  and  of  police  officers  with  their 
badges,  and  here  and  there  a  soldier  on  guard, 
gave  to  the  whole  scene  quite  a  solemn  and  im 
posing  appearance. 

Rollo  gazed  about  the  apartment  as  he  came 
in,  surveying  the  various  objects  and  groups  that 
presented  themselves  to  his  view,  until  his  eye 
rested  upon  a  little  party  of  travellers,  consisting 
of  a  lady  and  two  boys,  who  were  standing  to 
gether  near  a  low  railing,  waiting  for  the  gen 
tleman  who  was  with  them  to  come  back  from 
the  ticket  office  with  their  tickets.  What  chiefly 
attracted  Rollo's  attention,  however,  was  a  pretty 
little  dog,  with  very  long  ears,  and  black,  glossy 
hair,  which  one  of  the  children  held  by  a  cord. 
The  cord  was  attached  to  the  dog's  neck  by  a 
silver  collar. 

Rollo  looked  at  this  group  for  a  few  minutes, 
—  his  attention  being  particularly  occupied  by 
the  dog,  —  and  then  turned  again  towards  his 
uncle,  or  rather  towards  the  place  where  his 
uncle  had  been  standing  ;  but  he  found,  to  his 
surprise,  that  he  was  gone. 

In  a  moment,  however,  he  saw  his  uncle  coming 
towards  him.  He  was  clasping  his  wallet  and 
putting  it  in  his  pocket. 


CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER.        35 

Buying  tickets.  A  question  for  Rollo. 

"  Uncle  George,"  said  he,  "  see  that  beautiful 
little  dog ! " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George. 

"  I  wish  I  had  such  a  dog  as  that  to  travel 
with  me,"  said  Rollo.  "But,  uncle  George, 
where  are  we  to  get  our  tickets  ? " 

"  I've  got  mine,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  When  I 
come  to  a  railway  station  I  always  get  my  tick 
et  the  first  thing,  and  look  at  the  pretty  little 
dogs  afterwards." 

So  saying,  Mr.  George  took  a  newspaper  out 
of  his  pocket  and  began  to  walk  away,  adding, 
as  he  went,  — 

"  I'll  sit  down  here  and  read  my  newspaper 
till  you  have  got  your  ticket,  and  then  we  will 
go  into  the  waiting  room." 

"  But,  uncle  George,"  said  Hollo,  "  why  did 
not  you  get  me  a  ticket  when  you  got  yours  ?  " 

"Because,"  said  Mr.  George,  among  other 
reasons,  "  I  did  not  know  which  class  carriage 
you  wished  to  go  in." 

"Why,  uncle  George!"  exclaimed  Rollo,  sur 
prised.  "  I  must  go  in  the  same  carriage  that 
you  do  of  course." 

"  Not  of  course,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  have 
got  a  ticket  in  the  first  class  ;  and  I  should  like 
to  have  your  company  in  my  car  very  much  if 
you  choose  to  pay  the  price  for  a  first-class 


36         ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Mr.  George's  system  with  Hollo. 

ticket.  But  if  you  choose  to  take  a  second  or 
a  third-class  ticket  you  will  save,  perhaps,  half 
your  money." 

So  saying,  Mr.  George  went  away  and  left 
Hollo  to  himself. 

This  was  the  way  that  Mr.  George  always 
treated  Rollo  when  he  was  travelling  with  him. 
He  left  him  to  act  for  himself  and  to  take  care 
of  himself  in  almost  all  the  emergencies  that  oc 
curred.  He  did  this,  not  because  he  wished  to 
save  himself  the  trouble  of  taking  care  of  a  boy, 
but  because  he  thought  it  was  much  better  for 
boys  early  to  learn  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

The  manner  in  which  Mr.  George  thus  threw 
the  responsibility  upon  Rollo  seemed  sometimes 
to  be  a  little  blunt.  One  would  suppose,  in  some 
of  these  cases,  from  the  way  in  which  he  spoke 
and  acted,  that  he  did  not  care  at  all  what  be 
came  of  Rollo,  so  coolly  and  with  such  an  air  of 
unconcern  did  he  leave  him  to  his  own  resources. 
In  fact,  Rollo  was  frequently  at  such  times  a 
little  frightened,  or  at  least  perplexed,  and  often, 
at  first,  felt  greatly  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to 
do.  But,  on  reflecting  a  little  upon  the  subject, 
he  usually  soon  succeeded  in  extricating  himself 
from  the  difficulty ;  and  then  he  was  always  quite 
proud  of  having  done  so,  and  was  pleased  with 
bis  uncle  George  for  having  given  him  the 


CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER.        37 

Rollo  concludes  to  go  with  his  uncle. 

opportunity.  So  Mr.  George,  having  learned  by 
experience  that  Rollo  liked,  on  the  whole,  to  be 
treated  in  this  way,  always  adopted  it ;  and  in 
carrying  it  out  he  sometimes  spoke  and  acted  in 
such  a  way  as  might,  under  other  circumstances 
have  appeared  somewhat  stern. 

The  idea  of  taking  a  second-class  car  for  him 
self  in  order  to  save  a  portion  of  his  money, 
whilo  his  uncle  went  in  one  of  the  first-class,  took 
Rollo's  imagination  strongly,  and  he  was  half 
inclined  to  adopt  it. 

"  On  the  whole,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  I  will 
not  do  it  to-day ;  but  I  will  some  other  day. 
And  now  I  wonder  which  is  the  ticket  office  for 
Strasbourg." 

So  saying,  Rollo  looked  about  the  room  and 
soon  found  the  proper  place  to  apply  for  his 
ticket.  He  procured  a  ticket  without  any  diffi 
culty,  asking  for  it  in  French,  with  a  pronuncia 
tion  which,  if  it  was  not  perfectly  correct,  was 
at  least  perfectly  intelligible.  As  soon  as  he 
had  received  his  ticket  and  had  taken  up  his 
change  he  went  to  the  bench  where  his  uncle 
George  was  sitting  and  said  that  he  was  ready. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  then  we'll  go.  I 
like  to  travel  with  a  boy  that  is  capable  of 
taking  care  of  himself  and  is  willing  to  be 
treated  like  a  man." 


38  HOLLO    IN    SWITZEELAND. 

The  travellers  waiting.  The  train  is  ready. 

Saying  these  words,  Mr.  George  rose  from  his 
Beat,  and,  after  attending  properly  to  the  bag 
gage,  he  and  Rollo  passed  through  a  door 
guarded  by  a  man  in  uniform,  who  required 
them  to  show  him  their  tickets  before  he 
would  allow  them  to  pass,  and  then  entered  a 
spacious  apartment  which  was  reserved  as  the 
waiting  room  for  the  first-class  passengers.  This 
room  was  beautifully  finished  and  richly  adorned, 
and  the  splendid  sofas  and  ottomans  which  were 
ranged  about  the  sides  of  it  were  occupied  by 
well-dressed  ladies  and  gentlemen,  carrying 
shawls,  greatcoats,  and  small  travelling  bags 
upon  their  arms,  and  exhibiting  other  similar  in 
dications  of  their  being  travellers.  Mr.  George 
and  Rollo  took  seats  at  a  vacant  place  upon 
one  of  the  sofas.  In  a  few  minutes  an  officer 
came  and  informed  the  company,  in  a  very 
respectful  manner,  that  the  train  was  ready ; 
whereupon  they  all  rose  from  their  seats  and 
walked  out  upon  the  platform  where  the  train 
was  waiting.  Here  there  were  several  railway 
servants,  all  dressed  in  uniform,  whose  business 
it  was  to  conduct  the  passengers  to  the  several 
cars,  or  carriages,  as  they  call  them,  and  opeai 
the  doors.  These  carriages  were  entirely  differ 
ent  in  their  construction  from  the  long  and  open 
cars  used  in  America,  which  form  but  one  com 


CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER.        39 

The  car  which  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  occupied. 

partment,  that  extends  through  the  whole  length 
of  the  car.  The  French  cars  were  like  three  ele 
gant  carriages,  joined  together  in  such  a  manner 
that,  though  the  three  formed  but  one  car"  thej 
were  still  entirely  distinct  from  each  other.  The 
seats  in  these  carriages  were  very  spacious,  and 
they  were  richly  stuffed  and  lined,  so  that  they 
formed  soft  and  luxurious  places  of  repose.  The 
railway  porter  opened  one  of  the  doors  and  ad 
mitted  Mr.  George  and  Rollo,  and  when  they 
had  entered  he  closed  it  again. 

"Ah,"  said  Rollo,  seating  himself  upon  the 
soft  cushion  on  one  of  the  seats,  "is  not  this 
superb  ?  I  am  very  glad  I  did  not  take  a  second- 
class  car." 

"  And  yet  the  second-class  cars  in  France  are 
very  comfortable  and  very  respectable,"  said 
Mr.  George,  "and  they  are  very  much  cheaper." 

"How  much  should  we  have  saved,"  asked 
Rollo,  "in  going  to  Strasbourg,  if  we  had  taken 
a  second-class  car  ?  " 

"I  don't  know,  precisely,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"  We  should  have  saved  a  great  deal." 

The  train  now  began  to  move  ;  and,  soon  after 
it  left  the  station,  Mr.  George  took  out  his  news 
paper  again  and  began  to  read.  It  was  a  copy 
of  a  very  celebrated  newspaper,  called  the  London 
Times.  Mr.  George  had  another  London  paper 


40          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Punch'  What  Rollo  saw  from  the  car  window. 


IN   THE   CAR. 


which  was  full  of  humorous  engravings.  The 
name  of  it  was  Punch.  Mr.  George  gave  the 
Punch  to  Rollo,  thinking  that  the  pictures  and 
caricatures  in  it  might  perhaps  amuse  him  ;  but 
Rollo,  after  turning  it  over  a  moment,  concluded 
that  he  should  prefer  to  amuse  himself  by  look 
ing  out  the  window. 

Rollo  saw  a  great  many  beautiful  views  and  wit 
nessed  a  great  many  strange  and  striking  scenes 
as  he  was  whirled  onward  by  the  train  across  the 
country  from  Paris  towards  Strasbourg.  We 


CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER.         41 

Strasbourg.  The  valley  of  the  Rhine.  Basle. 

cannot,  however,  stop  to  describe  what  he  saw, 
but  must  hasten  on  to  the  Swiss  frontier.  The 
travellers  arrived  at  Strasbourg  in  the  evening. 
They  spent  the  night  at  a  hotel ;  and  the  next 
morning  they  took  another  railway  which  led 
along  the  bank  of  the  Rhine,  up  the  river,  towards 
Switzerland.  The  country  was  magnificent. 
There  was  the  river  on  one  side,  and  a  range  of 
mountains  rising  sublimely  in  the  interior  on  the 
other.  The  mountains  were  at  a  distance  of 
several  miles  from  the  river ;  and  the  country 
between  was  an  extremely  fertile  and  luxuriant 
plain,  covered  with  villages,  castles,  parks,  pleas 
ure  grounds,  gardens,  and  cultivated  fields,  which 
presented  every  where  most  enchanting  pictures 
of  rural  beauty.  This  province  is  called  Alsatia. 

The  terminus  of  the  railway  was  at  the  city 
of  Basle,  which  lies  just  within  the  confines  of 
Switzerland.  A  short  distance  before  reaching 
the  gates  of  Basle,  the  train  stopped  at  what 
seemed  at  first  to  be  a  station.  It  was,  however, 
only  the  custom  house,  where  the  trunks  and 
passports  were  to  be  examined. 

"  What  are  we  to  do  here,"  asked  Hollo. 

"  /  am  going  to  do  what  I  see  other  people 
do,"  replied  Mr.  George.  "You  can  do  what 
ever  you  please." 

At  this  moment  a  guard,  dressed,  like  all  the 


42         ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


The  custom  house  at  Basle. 


other  railway  servants,  in  a  sort  of  uniform, 
opened  the  door  of  the  car  in  which  Mr.  George 
and  Rollo  were  sitting,  and  said  in  a  very  re 
spectful  manner,  in  French, — 

"  The  custom  house,  gentlemen." 

Mr.  George  observed  that  the  passengers  were 
getting  out  from  all  the  other  cars  ;  so  he  stepped 
out  too,  and  Rollo  followed  him. 

When  they  reached  the  platform  they  ob 
served  that  a  company  of  porters  were  employed 
in  carrying  all  the  trunks  and  baggage  from  the 
cars  to  the  custom  house,  and  that  the  passengers 
were  going  into  the  custom  house  too,  though  by 
another  door.  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  went  in 
with  them.  They  found  an  office  within,  and  a 
desk,  where  one  or  two  secretaries  sat  and  ex 
amined  the  passports  of  the  travellers  as  they 
successively  presented  them.  As  fast  as  they 
were  examined  they  were  impressed  with  a  new 
stamp,  which  denoted  permission  for  the  travel 
lers  to  pass  the  Swiss  frontier.  The  several 
travellers,  as  fast  as  their  passports  were  exam 
ined,  found  right,  and  stamped,  were  allowed 
to  pass  between  two  soldiers  through  a  door  into 
another  hall,  where  they  found  all  the  trunks 
and  baggage  arranged  on  a  sort  of  counter, 
which  extended  around  the  centre  of  the  room, 
BO  as  to  enclose  a  square  place  within.  The 


CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER          43 

Why  the  baggage  of  travellers  is  searched. 

custom-house  officers  who  were  to  examine  the 
baggage  were  within  this  enclosure,  while  the 
travellers  who  owned  the  baggage  stood  without. 
These  last  walked  around  the  counter,  looking 
at  the  trunks,  boxes,  bundles,  and  carpet  bags 
that  covered  it,  each  selecting  his  own  and 
opening  the  several  parcels,  in  order  that  the 
officers  within  might  examine  them. 

The  object  of  examining  the  trunks  of  passen 
gers  in  this  way  is,  to  ascertain  that  they  have 
not  any  goods  concealed  in  them.  As  a  general 
thing,  persons  are  not  allowed  to  take  goods 
from  one  country  to  another  without  paying  a 
tax  for  them.  Such  a  tax  is  called  technically 
a  duty,  and  the  avails  of  it  go  to  support  the 
government  of  the  country  which  the  goods  are 
carried  into.  Travellers  are  allowed  to  take 
with  them  all  that  is  necessary  for  their  own  per- 
sorial  use,  as  travellers,  without  paying  any  duty  ; 
but  articles  that  are  intended  for  sale  as  mer 
chandise,  or  those  which,  though  intended  for 
the  traveller's  own  use,  are  not  strictly  personal, 
are  liable  to  pay  duty.  The  principle  is,  that 
whatever  the  traveller  requires  for  his  own  per 
sonal  use,  in  travelling,  is  not  liable  to  duty. 
What  he  does  not  so  require  must  pay  duty,  no 
matter  whether  he  intends  to  use  it  himself  or 
to  sell  it. 


44         ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Rollo  goes  in  to  find  his  trunk. 

Many  travellers  do  not  understand  this  prop 
erly,  and  often  get  into  difficulty  by  not  under 
standing  it,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel. 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  went  into  the  baggage 
room  together,  showing  their  passports  as  they 
passed  through  between  the  soldiers.  They 
then  walked  slowly  along  the  room,  looking  at 
the  baggage,  as  it  was  arranged  upon  the  coun 
ter,  in  search  of  their  own. 

"I  see  my  trunk,"  said  Mr.  George,  looking 
along  at  a  little  distance  before  him.  "There 
it  is." 

"  And  where  do  you  suppose  mine  is  ?  "  asked 
Rollo. 

"  I  have  not  the  least  idea,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"  I  advise  you  to  walk  all  around  the  room  and 
see  if  you  can  find  it ;  and  when  you  find  it,  get 
it  examined." 

Rollo,  taking  this  advice,  walked  on,  leaving 
Mr.  George  in  the  act  of  taking  out  his  key  in 
order  to  open  his  trunk  for  the  purpose  of  allow 
ing  an  officer  to  inspect  it  as  soon  as  one  should 
be  ready. 

Rollo  soon  found  his  trunk.  It  was  in  a  part 
of  the  room  remote  from  his  uncle's.  Near  his 
trunk  was  a  very  large  one,  which  the  officers 
were  searching  very  thoroughly.  They  had 
found  something  in  it  which  was  not  personal 


CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER.      •  45 

A  lady  in  trouble.  Declaring. 

baggage  and  which  the  lady  had  not  declared. 
Hollo  could  not  see  what  the  article  was  which 
the  officers  had  found.  It  was  something  con 
tained  in  a  pretty  box.  The  lady  had  put  it  into 
the  bottom  of  her  trunk.  The  officers  had  taken 
it  out,  and  were  now  examining  it.  The  lady 
stood  by,  seemingly  in  great  distress. 

Eollo's  attention,  which  had  begun  to  be  at 
tracted  by  this  scene,  was,  however,  almost  im 
mediately  called  off  from  it  by  the  voice  of 
another  officer,  who  pointed  to  his  trunk  and 
asked  him  if  it  was  his. 

"  Is  that  yours  ?  "  said  the  officer,  in  French. 

"Yes,"  replied  Rollo,  in  the  same  language, 
"  it  is  mine ; "  and  so  saying,  he  proceeded  to 
take  out  his  key  and  unlock  the  trunk. 

"  Have  you  any  thing  to  declare  ?  "  asked  the 
man. 

Eollo  looked  perplexed.  He  did  not  know 
what  the  officer  meant  by  asking  nim  if  he  had 
any  thing  to  declare.  After  a  moment's  hesita 
tion  he  said,  — 

"  I  don't  know ;  but  I  will  go  ask  my  uncle." 

So  Rollo  went  to  the  place  where  he  had  left 
his  uncle  George,  and  accosted  him  by  saying, — 

"They  want  to  know  if  I  have  any  thing  to 
declare.  What  do  they  mean  ?  " 

"  They  mean  whether  you  have  any  goods  in 


46.       ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  travellers'  trunks  are  passed.  Returning  to  the  train. 

your  trunk  that  are  liable  to  pay  duty.  Tell 
them  no." 

So  Rollo  went  back  and  told  the  officer  that 
he  had  not  any  thing  to  declare.  He  then 
opened  his  trunk  ;  but  the  officer,  instead  of  ex 
amining  it,  shut  down  the  lid,  saying,  "  Very 
well ;  "  and  by  means  of  a  piece  of  chalk  he 
marked  it  upon  the  top  with  some  sort  of  charac 
ter.  A  porter  then  took  the  trunk  and  carried 
it  back  to  the  train. 

Rollo  perceived  that  the  difficulty  about  the 
lady's  baggage  had  been  settled  in  some  way  or 
other,  but  he  feared  it  was  settled  in  a  manner 
not  very  satisfactory  to  the  lady  herself;  for,  as 
the  porters  took  up  her  trunk  to  carry  it  back, 
she  looked  quite  displeased  and  out  of  humor. 

Rollo  went  back  to  the  place  where  he  had 
left  his  uncle  George,  and  then  they  went  to 
gether  out  to  the  platform.  Here  Rollo  found 
the  lady  who  had  had  difficulty  about  her  bag 
gage  explaining  the  case  to  some  friends  that 
she  found  there.  She  seemed  to  be  very  indig 
nant  and  angry,  and  was  telling  her  story  with 
great  volubility.  Rollo  listened  for  a  moment ; 
but  she  spoke  so  rapidly  that  he  could  not  un 
derstand  what  she  said,  as  she  spoke  in  French. 

"  What  does  she  say  ?  "  he  asked,  speaking  to 
Mr.  George. 


CROSSING  THE  FRONTIER.         47 

Penalty  for  smuggling.  Confiscation. 

"She  says,"  replied  Mr.  George,  "that  they 
were  going  to  seize  something  that  she  had  in 
her  trunk  because  she  did  not  declare  it." 

"What  does  that  mean?"  said  Rollo. 

"Why,  the  law  is,"  said  Mr.  George,  "that 
when  people  have  any  thing  in  their  trunks  that 
is  dutiable,  if  they  declare  it,  that  is,  acknowledge 
that  they  have  it  and  show  it  to  the  officers, 
then  they  have  only  to  pay  the  duty,  and  they 
may  carry  the  article  in.  But  if  they  do  not 
declare  it,  but  hide  it  away  somewhere  in  their 
trunks,  and  the  officers  find  it  there,  then  the 
thing  is  forfeited  altogether.  The  officers  seize 
it  and  sell  it  for  the  benefit  of  the  government." 

"  0,  uncle  George !  "  exclaimed  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  is  what  they 
do  ;  and  it  is  right.  If  people  wish  to  bring  any 
thing  that  is  subject  to  duty  into  any  country 
they  ought  to  be  willing  to  pay  the  duty,  and 
not,  by  refusing  to  pay,  make  other  people  pay 
more  than  their  share." 

"  If  one  man  does  not  pay  his  duty,"  rejoined 
Rollo,  "  do  the  others  have  to  pay  mpre  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  in  the  end  they  do. 
At  least  I  suppose  so.  Whatever  the  amount  of 
money  may  be  that  is  required  for  the  expenses 
of  government,  if  one  man  does  not  pay  his  share, 
the  rest  must  make  it  up,  I  suppose." 


48          ROLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Reason  for  overlooking  Hollo's  trunk.  The  Three  Kings 

"  They  did  not  look  into  my  trunk  at  all,"  said 
Rollo.  "  Why  didn't  they?  I  might  have  had 
ever  so  many  things  hid  away  there." 

"  I  suppose  they  knew  from  the  circumstances 
of  the  case,"  said  Mr.  George,  "that  you  would 
not  be  likely  to  have  any  smuggled  goods  in 
your  trunk.  They  saw  at  once  that  you  were  a 
foreign  boy,  and  knew  that  you  must  be  coming 
to  Switzerland  only  to  make  a  tour,  and  that 
you  could  have  no  reason  for  wishing  to  smug 
gle  any  thing  into  the  country.  They  scarcely 
looked  into  my  trunk  at  all." 

While  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  had  been  hold 
ing  this  conversation  they  had  returned  to  their 
places  in  the  car,  and  very  soon  the  train  was  in 
motion  to  take  them  into  the  town. 

Thus  our  travellers  passed  the  Swiss  frontier. 
In  half  an  hour  afterwards  they  were  comfort 
ably  established  at  a  large  and  splendid  hotel 
called  the  Three  Kings.  The  hotel  has  this 
name  in  three  languages,  English,  French,  and 
German,  as  people  speaking  those  several  lan 
guages  come,  in  almost  equal  numbers,  to  Swit 
zerland.  Thus  when  you  leave  the  station  you 
may,  in  your  directions  to  the  coachman,  say 
you  wish  to  go  to  the  Three  Kings,  or  to  the 
Trois  Rois,  or  to  the  Drei  Konige,  whichever 
you  please.  They  all  mean  the  same  hotel- 
the  best  hotel  in  Basle. 


BASLE.  49 


Sources  of  the  River  Rhine.  Lake  Constance. 


CHAPTER   III. 

BASLE. 

THE  city  of  Basle  stands  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Rhine,  on  the  northern  frontier  of  Switzer 
land.  The  waters  of  the  Rhine  are  gathered 
from  hundreds  of  roaring  and  turbid  torrents 
which  come  out,  some  from  vast  icy  caverns  in 
the  glaciers,  some  from  the  melting  debris  of 
fallen  avalanches,  some  from  gushing  fountains 
which  break  out  suddenly  through  crevices  in 
the  rocks  or  yawning  chasms,  and  some  from 
dark  and  frightful  ravines  on  the  mountain  sides, 
down  which  they  foam  and  tumble  perpetually, 
fed  by  vast  fields  of  melting  snow  above.  The 
waters  of  all  these  torrents,  being  gathered  at 
last  into  one  broad,  and  deep,  and  rapid  stream, 
flow  to  a  vast  reservoir  called  the  Lake  of  Con 
stance,  where  they  repose  for  a  time,  or,  rather, 
move  slowly  and  insensibly  forward,  enjoying  a 
comparative  quiescence  which  has  all  the  charac 
teristics  and  effects  of  repose.  The  waters  enter 
this  reservoir  wild  and  turbid.  They  leave  it 
4 


60  ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Course  of  the  Rhine.  Its  appearance. 

calm  and  clear ;  and  then,  flowing  rapidly  for 
one  hundred  miles  along  the  northern  frontier 
of  Switzerland,  and  receiving  successively  the 
waters  of  many  other  streams  that  have  come 
from  hundreds  of  other  torrents  and  have  been 
purified  in  the  repose  of  other  lakes  extending 
over  the  whole  northern  slope  of  Switzerland, 
they  form  a  broad  and  rapid  river,  which  flows 
swiftly  through  Basle,  and  then,  turning  sudden 
ly  to  the  northward,  bids  Basle  and  Switzerland 
farewell  together. 

"  And  then  where  does  it  go  ?  "  said  Rollo  to 
Mr.  George  when  his  uncle  had  explained  this 
thus  far  to  him. 

"Straight  across  the  continent  to  the  North 
Sea,"  said  Mr.  George. 

Thus  the  whole  northern  slope  of  Switzerland 
is  drained  by  a  system  of  waters  which,  when 
united  at  Basle,  form  the  River  Rhine. 

The  morning  after  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  ar 
rived  at  Basle  they  were  looking  out  upon  the 
River  Rhine  from  the  windows  of  the  hotel. 

"  What  a  swift  river ! "  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George. 

"  And  how  blue  the  water  is ! "  continued 
Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  The  water  of  the 
streams  which  come  from  the  Swiss  mountains 


B  A  S  L  M .  51 

A  moraine.  A  glacier. 

is  turbid  at  first  and  very  gray  from  the  grind 
ing  up  of  the  rocks  in  the  moraines  and  glaciers 
and  by  the  avalanches." 

"  What  is  a  moraine  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"I  will  explain  it  to  you  one  of  these  days," 
said  Mr.  George,  "  when  you  come  to  see  one." 

"  And  a  glacier,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  what  is  that  ?  " 

"I  will  explain  that  to  you,  too,  some  other 
time,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  but  not  now :  for  the 
breakfast  will  come  in  in  a  minute  or  two." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  can  hear  while  I  am 
eating  my  breakfast." 

"  That  may  be,"  replied  Mr.  George  ;  "  but  I 
cannot  lecture  very  well  while  I  am  eating  my 
breakfast." 

Rollo  laughed.  "I  did  not  think  of  that," 
said  he. 

"  What  queer  boats !  "  continued  Rollo,  looking 
out  again  upon  the  river.  "  And  there  is  a  long 
bridge  leading  over  to  the  other  side.  May  I 
go  out  and  walk  over  on  that  bridge  after 
breakfast  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "you  may  go  any 
where  you  please." 

"But  suppose  I  should  get  lost,"  said  Rollo. 
"What  should  I  do  then?" 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  unless  you 
should  ask  somebody  to  tell  you  the  way  to  the 
Three  Kings." 


52          ROLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND. 

How  to  inquire  one's  way  in  Switzerland.  The  breaafast. 

"  But  perhaps  they  would  not  understand  Eng 
lish,"  said  Hollo. 

"Then  you  must  say  Trois  Rois*  which  is  the 
French  name  for  the  hotel/'  rejoined  Mr.  George. 

"But  perhaps  they  would  not  understand 
French/7  said  Rollo. 

"  No,"  replied  Mr.  George  ;  "  I  think  it  proba 
ble  they  would  not ;  for  people  talk  German  gen 
erally  in  this  part  of  Switzerland.  In  that  case 
you  must  ask  the  way  to  Drei  Konige"  * 

Here  the  waiter  came  in  with  the  breakfast. 
It  consisted  of  a  pot  of  coifee,  another  of  boiled 
milk,  an  omelette,  some  excellent  cakes,  and 
some  honey.  There  was  a  long  table  extending 
up  and  down  the  room,  which  was  a  very  large 
and  handsome  apartment,  and  there  were  besides 
several  round  tables  in  corners  and  in  pleasant 
places  near  the  windows.  The  breakfast  for 
Mr.  George  and  Rollo  was  put  upon  one  of  the 
round  tables ;  and,  in  sitting  down  to  it,  Rollo 
took  pains  to  place  himself  in  such  a  manner  that 
he  could  look  out  the  window  and  see  the  water 
while  he  was  eating. 


*  Mr.  George,  in  speaking  these  words,  did  not  pronounce 
them  as  you  would  suppose  from  the  manner  in  which  they  are 
written.  He  pronounced  them  very  much  as  if  they  were  spelled 
Tru-ah  Ru-ah.  In  the  same  manner,  the  German  words,  Drei 
,  he  pronounced  as  if  they  were  spelled  Dhrai  Ker-niq-ger 


BASLE.  53 

The  altitude  of  Switzerland.  Chamouni. 

"  What  a  dreadful  river  that  would  be  to  fall 
into  ! "  said  Hollo.  "  It  runs  so  swift  and  looks 
so  angry !  " 

"Yes/'  said  Mr.  George.  "It  runs  swift  te 
cause  the  descent  is  very  great.  Switzerland  i« 
very  high ;  and  the  water,  in  running  from  it. 
flows  very  swiftly." 

"I  did  not  know  that  Switzerland  was  all 
high,7'  said  Hollo.  "  I  knew  that  the  mountains 
were  high  ;  but  the  valleys  must  be  low." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  it  is  all  high.  The 
bottoms  of  the  valleys  are  higher  than  the  tops 
of  the  mountains  in  many  other  countries.  In 
going  into  Switzerland,  we  go  up  hill  nearly  all 
the  way  ;  and  so,  even  when  we  are  at  the  bottom 
of  the  deepest  valleys  in  Switzerland,  we  are  up 
very  high.  There  is  Chamouni,  for  example, 
which  is  a  deep  valley  near  the  foot  of  Mont 
Blanc.  The  bottom  of  that  valley  is  six  or  seven 
times  as  high  as  the  top  of  the  Palisades  on  the 
North  River." 

"  0,  uncle  George!  "  exclaimed  Hollo. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  and  it  is  so  with  all 
the  Swiss  valleys  ;  and,  accordingly,  the  water 
that  comes  down  through  them  has  a  great  de 
scent  to  make  in  getting  to  the  sea.  Thus  there 
are  a  great  many  falls,  and  cascades,  and  rapids  ; 
and,  even  in  those  places  where  the  rivers  run 


54          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  two  scenes.  Within  and  without. 

smoothly,  the  current  is  very  swift  and  very 
strong." 

While  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  were  eating  their 
breakfast  the  attention  of  Rollo  was  occupied 
partly  by  the  prospect  of  the  river  as  he  saw  it 
through  the  open  window,  and  partly  by  the  va 
rious  groups  of  travellers  who  were  constantly 
coming  into  the  room,  or  going  out,  or  taking  their 
breakfasts  in  little  parties  at  the  tables.  Some 
who  had  finished  their  breakfasts  were  looking  at 
maps  and  guide  books  which  they  had  spread  out 
before  them  on  the  tables.  The  room  was  very 
large,  and  very  beautiful ;  and,  as  it  was  lighted 
on  the  back  side  by  a  row  of  wide  and  lofty 
windows  which  looked  out  upon  the  river,  it 
wore  a  very  bright  and  cheerful  expression.  At 
one  end  of  it  were  glass  doors,  which  led  into 
another  room  very  similar  to  this,  as  it  likewise 
had  windows  looking  out  upon  the  river.  This 
room  was  used  as  a  sort  of  sitting  room  and  read 
ing  room.  There  was  a  table  in  the  centre,  with 
newspapers,  some  French,  some  English,  and 
Borne  German,  lying  upon  it.  Rollo  determined 
to  go  into  this  room  as  soon  as  he  had  finished 
his  breakfast  to  see  who  was  there  and  what 
they  were  doing. 

"  Rollo,"  said  Mr.  George,  after  a  short  pause, 
"do  you  wish  to  travel  in  Switzerland  intelli- 
g  3ntly  or  blindly  ?  " 


BASLE.  55 

The  two  ways  to  travel.  Rollo's  choice. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"Why,  do  you  wish  to  understand  something 
of  the  general  features  of  the  country  first,  so  as 
to  know  always,  as  we  go  travelling  on,  where  you 
are,  and  where  you  are  going,  and  what  you  are 
to  expect  to  see,  or  would  you  rather  not  trouble 
yourself  at  all  about  this,  but  take  things  as 
they  come  along,  and  enjoy  them  as  you  see 
them,  without  thinking  or  caring  what  is  to  come 
next." 

"  Which  is  the  best  way  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"Either  is  a  very  good  way,"  replied  Mr. 
George.  "  There  is  a  pleasure  in  understanding 
and  anticipating,  and  there  is  also  a  pleasure  in 
wondering  what  is  to  come  next  and  meeting 
with  surprises.  You  can  take  your  choice." 

Rollo  reflected  a  moment,  and  then  he  said 
that  he  thought  he  should  like  best  to  under 
stand. 

"Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  Then  I  will 
explain  to  you  the  general  features  of  Switzer 
land.  Switzerland  —  or  at  least  that  portion  of 
it  which  is  the  chief  scene  of  the  rambles  of 
tourists  and  travellers  —  consists  substantially 
of  a  long  and  deep  valley,  extending  from  east 
to  west  through  the  centre,  and  bordered  by  a 
range  of  mountains  on  each  side.  The  range  of 
mountains  on  the  northern  side  of  this  valley  is, 


56          HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  geography  of  Switzerland.  Hollo's  plan  for  a  model. 

of  course,  towards  Germany  ;  the  one  on  the 
southern  side  is  towards  Italy.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  northern  range  of  mountains  is  a 
broad  slope  of  land,  extending  a  hundred  miles 
towards  the  German  frontier.  On  the  southern 
Bide  of  the  southern  range  of  mountains  is  a 
steep  and  narrow  slope,  extending  to  the  Italian 
frontier. 

"Thus  we  may  say,"  continued  Mr.  George, 
"  that  Switzerland  consists  substantially  of  a 
broad  northern  slope  of  land  and  a  narrow 
southern  slope,  with  a  deep  valley  between  them. 
Do  you  understand  this  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Hollo.  "  If  I  had  some  damp 
sand,  and  a  little  wooden  shovel,  I  think  I  could 
make  it." 

"  People  do  make  models  of  the  Swiss  valleys 
and  mountains,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  In  fact, 
they  have  maps  of  Switzerland,  embossed  with 
all  the  mountains  in  relief;  and  I  wish  very  much 
that  we  had  one  here  to  look  at." 

"  There  is  one  here,"  said  Hollo,  his  face 
brightening  up  very  luminously  as  he  spoke. 
"  I  saw  it  hanging  up  in  the  gallery,  and  I  did 
not  know  what  it  was.  It  must  be  that.  I'll 
go  and  show  it  to  you  after  breakfast." 

"  I  am  very  glad,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  wished 
to  see  one  very  much.  We  will  go  and  see  it 


BASLE.  57 


The  northern  slope.  Interlachen. 

immediately  after  breakfast.  But  now  let  me 
tell  you  a  little  more  about  the  country.  You 
must  not  imagine  that  the  northern  slope,  as  I 
called  it,  is  one  smooth  and  uniform  surface  of 
descending  land.  There  are  mountains,  and 
valleys,  and  lakes,  and  precipices,  and  water 
falls,  and  every  other  variety  of  mountain  sce 
nery  scattered  all  over  it,  making  it  a  mosl 
picturesque  and  romantic  region.  It  is,  howev 
er,  on  the  whole,  a  slope.  It  begins  with  com 
paratively  smooth  and  level  land  on  the  north, 
and  it  terminates  in  a  range  of  lofty  mountain 
crests  on  the  south  ;  and  you  have  to  go  over  this 
crest  somewhere,  by  some  of  the  steep  and  diffi 
cult  passes  that  cross  it,  to  get  into  the  central 
valley.  We  are  on  the  margin  of  this  slope 
now.  When  we  leave  here  arid  strike  into  the 
heart  of  Switzerland  we  shall  be  gradually  as 
cending  it.  I  am  going  first  to  a  place  called 
Interlachen,  which  is  in  a  deep  valley  far  up  this 
slope,  just  under  the  ridge  of  mountains.  Inter 
lachen  is  surrounded,  in  fact,  by  mountains,  and 
a  great  many  pleasant  excursions  can  be  made 
from  it.  We  shall  stop  there  a  few  days  and 
make  excursions,  and  then  cross  over  by  some 
of  the  mountain  passes  into  the  valley.'7 

"  Well,"  said  Hollo,  in  a  tone  of  great  satis 
faction.    "  I  shall  like  that ;  I  should  like  to  go 


58          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

A  mountain  pass.  Rollo's  choice. 

over  a  mountain  pasj.  Shall  we  go  in  a  car 
riage,  or  on  horseback." 

"That  depends  upon  which  of  the  passes  we 
take,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  Some  of  them  are 
carriage  roads,  some  are  bridle  paths  ;  and  you 
ride  over  on  mules  or  horses.  Others  are  too 
steep  and  dangerous  to  ride  over  in  any  way. 
You  have  to  go  on  foot,  climbing  up  zigzag 
paths  cut  out  of  the  rock,  and  over  great  patches 
of  snow  that  horses  and  mules  would  sink  into." 

"  Let's  go  in  one  of  those,"  said  Hollo,  straight 
ening  himself  up. 

"  Sometimes  the  path  becomes  narrower  and 
narrower,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "until  it  is 
finally  lost  among  the  rocks,  and  you  have  to 
clamber  around  the  point  of  some  rocky  cliff  a 
thousand  feet  in  the  air,  with  scarcely  any  thing 
but  the  jagged  roughness  of  the  rocks  to  cling 
to." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Rollo,  eagerly.  "Yes,  sir. 
Let's  go  there.  That's  just  the  kind  of  road  I 
want  to  go  in." 

"Well,  we'll  see,"  said  Mr.  George.  "The 
first  thing  is  to  go  to  Interlachen.  That  is  in 
the  heart  of  the  mountains,  and  very  near  the 
passes  which  lead  over  into  the  valley.  When 
we  get  there  we  will  study  the  guide  book  and 
the  maps  and  determine  which  way  to  go. " 


BASLE.  59 


Hollo  and  his  uncle  finish  their  breakfast. 


"And  after  you  get  into  the  valley,"  said 
Rollo,  "  shall  you  go  across  it,  and  go  over  the 
mountains  on  the  other  side,  into  Italy  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  Perhaps 
we  shall  not  have  time.  I  may  think  it  is  best 
to  spend  the  time  in  rambling  about  among  the 
mountains  and  glaciers  near  the  head  of  the 
valley,  where  I  believe  is  to  be  found  the  most 
stupendous  scenery  in  all  Switzerland." 

The  breakfast  was  now  nearly  finished,  though 
the  process  of  eating  it  had  been  a  good  deal 
impeded  by  the  conversation,  so  large  a  share 
of  it  having  fallen  to  Mr.  George.  Mr.  George, 
however,  explained  to  Rollo  that  their  first  day's 
journey  from  Basle  would  be  south,  towards 
Berne,  the  capital  of  the  country  —  a  city  which 
was  situated  near  the  centre  of  the  northern 
elope  which  Mr.  George  had  described. 

"  Do  we  go  by  a  railway  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  by  a  diligence." 


00          HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  French  diligence.  The  banquette. 


CHAPTER  IY. 
THE  DILIGENCE. 

A  DILIGENCE  is  a  sort  of  stage  coach  used  in 
France  and  Switzerland,  and  generally  on  the 
continent  of  Europe.  It  is  constructed  very  dif 
ferently,  however,  from  an  American  stage  coach, 
being  divided  into  four  distinct  compartments. 
Hollo  had  seen  a  diligence  in  Paris,  and  so  he 
could  understand  very  easily  the  conversation 
which  ensued  between  himself  and  his  uncle  in 
respect  to  the  seats  which  they  should  take  in 
the  one  in  which  they  were  to  travel  to  Berne. 
In  order,  however,  to  enable  the  reader  of  this 
book  to  understand  it,  I  must  here  give  a  brief 
description  of  this  kind  of  vehicle.  The  en 
graving  on  page  77  is  a  very  faithful  representa 
tion  of  one  of  them.  There  are  three  windows 
in  the  side  of  it.  Each  of  these  windows  leads 
to  a  different  compartment  of  the  coach.  In  ad 
dition  to  these  three  compartments,  there  is,  over 
the  foremost  of  these,  on  the  top  of  the  coach, 
another,  making  four  in  all.  This  compartment 
on  the  top  is  called  the  banquette. 


THE  DILIGENCE.  61 

The  driver  of  the  diligence.  The  coupe.  The  interior. 

These  coaches  are  so  large  that  they  have  a 
conductor.  The  man  who  drives  sometimes  sits 
on  a  small  seat  placed  in  front  of  the  banquette, 
and  sometimes  he  rides  on  one  of  the  horses.  In 
either  case,  however,  he  has  nothing  to  do  but 
to  attend  to  his  team.  The  passengers  and  the 
baggage  are  all  under  the  conductor's  care. 

The  compartment  immediately  beneath  the 
banquette,  which  is  the  front  compartment  of 
the  body  of  the  coach,  is  called  the  coupe.  The 
coupe  extends  across  the  whole  coach,  from  one 
side  to  the  other ;  but  it  is  quite  narrow.  It 
has  only  one  seat,  —  a  seat  facing  the  horses, — 
with  places  upon  it  for  three  passengers.  There 
are  windows  in  front,  by  which  the  passengers 
can  look  out  under  the  coachman's  seat  when 
there  is  a  coachman's  seat  there.  The  doors 
leading  to  the  coupe  are  in  the  sides. 

The  compartment  immediately  behind  the 
coupe  is  called  the  interior.  It  is  entirely  sepa 
rate  from  the  coupe.  There  are  two  seats,  which 
extend  from  one  side  of  the  coach  to  the  other, 
and  have  places  upon  them  for  three  passengers 
each,  making  six  in  all.  The  three  passengers 
who  sit  on  one  of  these  seats  must,  of  course, 
ride  with  their  backs  to  the  horses.  The  doors 
leading  to  the  interior  are  in  the  sides.  In  fact, 
the  interior  has  within  exactly  the  appearance 


62          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

How  different  people  choose  their  seats  in  the  diligence. 

of  a  common  hackney  coach,  with  seats  for  six 
passengers. 

Behind  the  interior  is  the  fourth  compartment, 
which  is  called  the  rotonde.  It  is  like  a  short 
omnibus.  The  door  is  behind,  and  the  seats  are 
on  the  sides.  This  omnibus  compartment  is  so 
short  that  there  is  only  room  for  three  people 
on  each  side,  and  the  seats  are  not  very  com 
fortable. 

Very  genteel  people,  who  wish  to  be  secluded 
and  to  ride  somewhat  in  style,  take  the  coupe. 
The  seats  in  the  coupe  are  very  comfortable,  and 
there  is  a  very  good  opportunity  to  see  the  coun 
try  through  the  front  and  side  windows.  The 
price  is  much  higher,  however,  for  seats  in  the 
coupe  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  diligence. 

The  mass  of  common  travellers  generally  take 
places  in  the  interior.  The  seats  there  are  com 
fortable,  only  there  is  not  a  very  good  opportu 
nity  to  see  the  country ;  for  there  are  only  two 
windows,  one  on  each  side,  in  the  top  of  the 
door. 

People  who  do  not  care  much  about  the  style 
in  which  they  travel,  but  only  desire  to  have  the 
best  possible  opportunity  to  view  the  country 
and  to  have  an  amusing  time,  generally  go  up 
to  the  banquette.  The  places  here  are  cheaper 
than  they  are  even  in  the  interior,  and  very  much 
cheaper  than  they  are  in  the  coupe. 


THE  DILIGENCE.  63 

Packing  the  baggage.  An  errand  for  Rollo. 

The  cheapest  place  of  all,  however,  is  in  the 
rotonde,  which  is  the  omnibus-like  compartment, 
in  the  end  of  ihe  diligence,  behind.  This  com 
partment  is  generally  filled  with  laborers,  sol 
diers,  and  servants  ;  and  sometimes  nurses  and 
children  are  put  here. 

The  baggage  is  always  stored  upon  the  top 
of  the  diligence,  behind  the  banquette,  and 
directly  over  the  interior  and  the  rotonde.  It 
is  packed  away  very  carefully  there,  and  is  pro 
tected  by  a  strong  leather  covering,  which  is 
well  strapped  down  over  it.  All  these  things 
you  see  plainly  represented  in  the  engraving. 

We  now  return  to  the  conversation  which  was 
held  between  Rollo  and  Mr.  George  at  the  close 
of  their  breakfast. 

"  I  have  got  some  letters  to  write  after  break 
fast/'  said  Mr.  George,  "  and  I  should  like  to  go 
directly  to  my  room  and  write  them.  So  I  wish 
you  would  find  out  when  the  diligence  goes  next 
to  Berne,  and  take  places  in  it  for  you  and  me." 

"Well,"  said  Rollo,  "I  will;  only  how  shall  1 
doit?  Where  shall  I  go?" 

"  I  don't  know  any  thing  about  it,"  replied 
Mr.  George.  "  The  guide  book  says  that  there 
is  a  diligence  from  Basle  to  Berne  ;  and  I  sup 
pose  there  is  an  office  for  it  somewhere  about 
town.  Do  you  think  you  can  find  it?" 


64          KOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Conversation  between  Rollo  and  Mr.  George  about  the  coupe  and  banquette. 

"  I'll  try,"  said  Rolls.  "  But  how  do  we  take 
seats  in  it?  Is  there  a  "book  for  us  to  write  our 
names  in,  with  the  place  where  they  are  to  call 
for  us?" 

"  I  do  not  know  any  thing  about  it,"  said  Mr. 
George.  "  All  I  know  is,  that  I  want  to  go  to 
Berne  with  you  some  way  or  other  in  the  dili 
gence,  and  I  wish  to  have  you  plan  and  arrange 
it  all." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  will,  if  I  can  find  out. 
Only  tell  me  what  places  I  shall  take." 

"  I  don't  care  particularly  about  that,"  replied 
Mr.  George  ;  "  only  let  it  be  where  we  can  see 
best.  It  must  be  either  in  the  coupe  or  in  the 
banquette.  We  can't  see  at  all,  scarcely,  in  the 
other  compartments." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  should  like  to  be 
where  I  can  see.  But  would  you  rather  it  would 
be  in  the  coupe,  or  in  the  banquette  ?  " 

"  That  is  just  as  you  please,"  replied  Mr. 
George.  "  There  are  some  advantages  in  being 
in  the  banquette." 

"  What  are  they  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  There  are  four  advantages,"  replied  Mr. 
George.  "First,  it  is  up  very  high,  and  is  all 
open,  so  that  you  have  a  most  excellent  chance 
to  see." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo.     "  I  shall  like  that." 


THE  DILIGENCE.  65 

Conversation  in  the  banquette. 

"  The  second  advantage,"  said  Mr.  George, "  is, 
that  it  costs  less.  The  places  in  the  banquette 
are  quite  cheap." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  like  that.  So  we  can 
save  some  of  our  money." 

"  The  third  advantage,"  continued  Mr.  George, 
"  is,  that  we  have  a  great  deal  better  opportunity 
to  hear  talking  there.  There  are  usually  five 
persons  in  that  part  of  the  coach  —  the  coach 
man,  the  conductor,  and  three  passengers.  That 
is,  there  will  be  one  passenger  besides  you  and 
me.  He  will  probably  be  talking  with  the  con 
ductor  part  of  the  time,  and  the  conductor  will 
be  talking  with  the  coachman,  and  we  shall  be 
amused  by  hearing  what  they  say." 

"But  there  are  six  persons  in  the  interior," 
said  Rollo,  "  to  talk." 

"  True,"  replied  Mr.  George  ;  "  but,  then,  they 
are  usually  not  so  sociable  there  as  they  are 
up  on  the  banquette.  Besides,  the  noise  of  the 
wheels  on  the  hard  gravel  roads  is  so  loud  there 
that  we  cannot  hear  very  well.  Then,  moreover, 
when  we  stop  to  change  horses,  the  hostlers  and 
postilions  come  out,  and  our  coachman  and  con 
ductor  often  have  a  great  deal  of  amusing  con 
versation  with  them,  which  we  can  hear  from 
the  banquette ;  but  we  could  not  hear  it,  or  see 
the  process  of  harnessing  and  unharnessing, 
5 


66          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  four  advantages  of  the  banquette. 

from  the  interior,  nor  even  very  well  from  the 
coupe." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  like  that.  But  that 
makes  only  three  advantages.  You  said  there 
were  four." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "But  as  to  the 
fourth,  I  do  not  know  whether  you  will  considei 
it  an  advantage  or  not." 

"What  is  it?"  said  Rollo.  "I've  no  doubt 
but  I  shall." 

"  Why,  in  getting  up  and  down  to  and  from 
the  banquette  you  will  have  a  great  deal  of 
hard  climbing  to  do." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  shall  like  that.  They 
are  all  advantages  —  very  great  advantages 
indeed." 

So  Rollo  fully  determined  in  his  own  mind 
that  he  would  take  places  on  the  banquette.  He 
thought  that  there  was  one  disadvantage  in  that 
part  of  the  coach  ;  and  that  was,  that  in  case  of 
storm  the  rain  would  drive  in  directly  upon 
them  ;  but  he  found  in  the  end  that  an  excellent 
provision  was  made  against  this  contingency. 

The  young  gentlemen  had  now  finished  their 
breakfasts ;  and  so  they  rose  and  went  out  to 
what  Rollo  called  the  gallery,  to  see  the  embossed 
map  of  Switzerland  which  he  said  that  he  had 
Been  hanging  there.  The  plan  of  this  hotel  was 


THE  DILIGENCE.  67 

The  galleries  in  the  hotel. 

very  peculiar.  In  the  centre  of  it  was  a  very 
large,  open  hall,  almost  like  a  court,  only  it  was 
covered  above  with  a  roof  and  lighted  by  a 
skylight.  Around  this  hall  there  was,  in  each 
story,  an  open  gallery,  with  a  railing  on  one 
side,  over  which  you  could  look  down  to  the  floor 
below ;  and  on  the  other  side,  at  short  intervals, 
there  were  doors  leading  to  the  various  apart 
ments.  Between  these  doors,  and  against  the 
walls,  were  hanging  maps,  plans,  pictures,  and 
other  embellishments,  which  gave  to  these  gal 
leries  a  very  attractive  appearance.  Here  and 
there,  too,  on  the  different  stories,  there  were  so 
fas  or  other  seats,  with  persons  sitting  upon  them. 
Some  were  sewing,  and  some  were  attending 
children  who  were  playing  near.  At  the  two 
ends  of  the  hotel  there  were  broad  staircases  con 
nected  with  these  galleries  and  leading  from  one 
to  the  other.  Besides  the  galleries  there  were 
long  corridors,  extending  each  way  from  the  cen 
tre  of  the  building  to  ranges  of  apartments  situ 
ated  in  the  wings.  The  hotel,  in  fact,  was  very 
spacious,  and  it  was  very  admirably  arranged. 

Eollo  conducted  Mr.  George  to  the  third 
story ;  and  there,  hanging  against  the  wall,  he 
found  the  embossed  map  of  Switzerland'  which 
he  had  described.  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  took 
this  map  down  from  its  nail,  and,  seating  them- 


68          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  map  of  Switzerland.  The  mountain  lakes. 

selves  upon  a  settee  which  was  near,  they  held  it 
before  them  and  examined  it  very  attentively  for 
some  time.  Mr.  George  showed  Rollo  the  great 
central  valley  of  Switzerland,  with  the  ranges 
of  mountains  on  each  side  of  it.  He  showed 
him,  too,  the  great  slope  of  land  which  extended 
over  the  whole  northern  part  of  Switzerland. 
It  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  River  Rhine 
and  the  frontier,  and  on  the  south  by  the  great 
range  of  mountains  which  separated  it  from  the 
valley.  He  showed  him,  too,  the  numerous  lakes 
which  were  scattered  over  the  surface  of  it. 

"  You  see,"  said  he,  "  that  the  waters  which 
:ome  out  from  the  glaciers  and  the  snow  fields, 
and  down  through  the  chasms  and  ravines  in  the 
mountain  sides,  flow  on  till  they  come  to  some 
valley  or  place  of  comparatively  low  land  ;  and 
they  spread  all  over  this  depression,  and  flow 
into  it  more  and  more  until  they  fill  it  up  and 
make  a  lake  there.  When  the  lake  is  full  the 
surplus  waters  run  off  clear  wherever  they  find 
a  channel." 

"Is  that  the  way  the  lakes  are  formed?" 
asked  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  You  will  see  that 
it  is  so- when  we  get  up  to  them." 

"  Up  to  them  ?  "  said  Rollo.  "  You  mean  down 
to  them." 


THE  DILIGENCE.  69 

Hollo  goes  in  search  of  the  diligence  office. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  The  lakes  are  up 
quite  high.  Many  of  them  are  far  up  the  sides 
of  the  mountains.  The  water,  in  leaving  them, 
runs  very  rapidly,  showing  that  there  is  a  great 
descent  in  the  land  where  they  are  flowing* 
Sometimes,  in  fact,  these  streams  and  rivers, 
after  they  leave  the  lakes,  form  great  cataracts 
and  cascades  in  getting  down  to  the  level  coun 
try  below. 

"  But  now,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "  I  must 
go  to  my  writing,  and  you  may  see  what  you 
can  do  about  the  diligence." 

So  Mr.  George  went  away  towards  his  room, 
leaving  Hollo  to  hang  up  the  embossed  map  and 
then  to  determine  how  he  should  go  to  work  to 
ascertain  what  he  was  to  do. 

Rollo  found  less  difficulty  than  he  had  antici 
pated  in  procuring  places  in  the  diligence.  He 
first  inquired  of  the  clerk,  at  the  office  of  the 
hotel.  The  clerk  offered  to  send  a  porter  with 
him  to  show  him  the  way  to  the  diligence  office ; 
but  Eollo  said  that  he  would  prefer  to  go  him 
self  alone,  if  the  clerk  would  tell  him  in  what 
part  of  the  town  it  was. 

So  the  clerk  gave  Rollo  the  necessary  direc 
tion,  and  Rollo  went  forth. 

He  found  tho  diligence  office  very  easily.    In 


70         ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

How  Rollo  addressed  the  clerk. 

fact,  he  recognized  the  place  at  once  when  he 
came  near  it,  by  seeing  several  diligences  stand 
ing  before  it  along  the  street.  He  entered 
under  an  archway.  On  entering,  he  observed 
several  doors  leading  to  various  offices,  with  in 
scriptions  over  each  containing  the  names  of  the 
various  towns  to  which  the  several  diligences 
were  going.  At  length  he  found  BERNE. 

Hollo  did  not  know  precisely  in  what  way  the 
business  at  such  an  office  was  to  be  transacted ; 
but  he  had  learned  from  past  experience  that  all 
that  was  necessary  in  order  to  make  himself  un 
derstood  in  such  cases  was,  to  speak  the  principal 
words  that  were  involved  in  the  meaning  that 
he  was  intending  to  convey,  without  attempting 
to  make  full  and  complete  sentences  of  them.  In 
cases  where  he  adopted  this  mode  of  speaking 
he  was  accustomed  usually  to  begin  by  saying 
that  he  could  not  speak  French  very  well. 

Accordingly,  in  this  instance  he  went  to  the 
place  where  the  clerk  was  sitting  and  said,  — 

"  I  do  not  speak  French  very  well.  Diligence 
to  Berne.  Two  places.  Banquette." 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  the  clerk.  "I  understand 
rery  well." 

The  clerk  then  told  him  what  the  price  would 
f>e  of  two  seats  on  the  banquette,  and  Rollo  paid 


THE  DILIGENCE.  71 

Receipts  for  the  fare  in  the  diligence. 

the  money.  The  clerk  then  made  out  and  signed 
two  very  formal  receipts  and  gave  them  to 
Hollo. 

Rollo  walked  back  towards  the  hotel,  study 
ing  his  receipts  by  the  way ;  but  he  could  not 
understand  them,  as  they  were  in  the  German 
language. 


72          HOLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  passengers  at  the  diligence. 


CHAPTER  Y. 
RIDE  TO  BE RNE. 

AT  length  the  time  arrived  for  the  departure 
of  our  two  travellers  from  Basle.  A  porter 
from  the  hotel  carried  their  trunks  to  the  dili 
gence  office,  while  Rollo  and  Mr.  George  walked. 
When  they  got  to  the  place  they  found  the  dili 
gence  in  the  archway,  and  several  men  were  em 
ployed  in  carrying  up  trunks  and  carpet  bags  to 
the  top  of  it  and  stowing  them  away  there. 
In  doing  this  they  ascended  and  descended  by 
means  of  a  long  step  ladder.  The  men  took  Mr. 
George's  trunk  and  Rollo's  and  packed  them 
away  with  the  rest.  There  were  several  persons 
who  looked  like  passengers  standing  near,  wait 
ing,  apparently,  for  the  diligence  to  be  ready. 

Among  them  were  two  children,  a  girl  and  a 
boy,  who  seemed  to  be  about  Rollo's  age.  They 
were  plainly  but  neatly  dressed.  They  were 
sitting  on  a  chest,  The  boy  had  a  shawl  over 
his  arm,  and  the  girl  had  a  small  morocco  trav 
elling  bag  in  her  hand. 


RlDE    TO    BERNE.  73 

The  two  children  waiting. 

The  girl  looked  a  moment  at  Rollo  as  he 
came  up  the  archway,  and  then  cast  her  eyes 
down  again.  Her  eyes  were  blue,  and  they  were 
large  and  beautiful  and  full  of  meaning.  There 
was  a  certain  gentleness  in  the  expression  of  her 
countenance  which  led  Rollo  to  think  that  she 
must  be  a  kindhearted  and  amiable  girl.  The 
boy  looked  at  Rollo  too,  and  followed  him  some 
time  with  his  eyes,  gazing  at  him  as  he  came 
up  the  archway  with  a  look  of  interest  and 
curiosity. 

It  was  not  yet  quite  time  for  the  diligence  to 
set  out.  In  fact,  the  horses  were  not  yet  har 
nessed  to  it ;  and  during  the  interval  Rollo  and 
Mr.  George  stood  by,  watching  the  process  of 
getting  the  coach  ready  for  the  journey,  and  con 
trasting  the  appearance  of  the  vehicle,  and  of 
the  men  employed  about  it,  and  the  arrange 
ments  which  they  were  making,  with  the  corre 
sponding  particulars  in  the  setting  off  of  a  stage 
coach  as  they  had  witnessed  it  in  America. 
While  doing  this  Rollo  walked  about  the  prem 
ises  a  little  ;  and  at  length,  finding  himself  near 
the  two  children  on  the  chest,  he  concluded  to 
venture  to  accost  the  boy. 

"  Are  you  going  in  this  diligence  ? '  said  he, 
speaking  in  French. 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  boy. 


74          HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Hollo  and  his  young  fellow-travellers. 

"  So  am  I,"  said  Rollo.  "  Can  you  speak 
English  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  the  boy.  He  spoke  the  yes  in 
English. 

"Are  you  going  to  Berne?  "  asked  Rollo, 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  the  boy. 

The  girl,  who  had  been  looking  at  Rollo 
during  this  conversation,  here  spoke,  and  said 
that  they  were  going  to  Berne. 

"  We  are  going  in  that  diligence,"  said  she. 

"  So  am  I,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  have  got  a  seat  on 
the  banquette." 

"  Yes,"  rejoined  the  boy.  "  I  wished  to  have 
a  seat  on  the  banquette,  so  that  I  could  see  ;  but 
the  seats  were  all  engaged  before  my  father  went 
to  the  office  ;  so  we  are  going  in  the  coupe  ;  but 
I  don't  like  it  half  so  well." 

"  Nor  I,"  said  the  girl. 

"  Where  is  your  father  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  He  is  gone,"  replied  the  boy,  "  with  mother 
to  buy  something  at  a  shop  a  little  way  from 
here.  Lottie  and  I  were  tired,  and  so  we  pre 
ferred  to  stay  here.  But  they  are  coming  back 
pretty  soon." 

"  Are  you  all  going  to  ride  in  the  coupe  ?  " 
said  Rollo ;  "  because,  there  will  not  be  room. 
There  is  only  room  for  three  in  the  coupe." 

"  I  know  it,"  said  Lottie ;  "  but  then,  as  two  of 


EIDE  TO  BERNE.  75 

Lottie  and  Adolphus  enter  the  coup6. 

us  are  children,  father  thought  that  we  could  get 
along.  Father  had  a  plan  for  getting  Adolphus 
a  seat  in  the  interior ;  but  he  was  not  willing  to 
go  there,  because,  he  said,  he  could  not  see." 

Just  at  this  moment  the  father  and  mother  of 
Adolphus  and  Lottie  came  up  the  archway  into 
the  court  yard  where  the  diligence  was  standing. 
The  horses  had  been  brought  out  some  minutes 
before  and  were  now  nearly  harnessed.  The 
gentleman  seemed  to  be  quite  in  a  hurry  as  he 
came  up ;  and,  seeing  that  the  horses  were  near 
ly  ready,  he  said, — 

"  Now,  children,  get  in  and  take  your  places 
as  soon  as  possible." 

So  they  all  went  to  the  coach,  and  the  gentle 
man  attempted  to  open  the  door  leading  to  the 
coupe.  It  was  fastened. 

"  Conductor,"  said  he,  speaking  very  eagerly 
to  the  conductor,  who  was  standing  near,  "  open 
this  door ! " 

"  There  is  plenty  of  time,"  said  the  conductor. 
"  There  is  no  need  of  haste." 

However,  in  obedience  to  the  request  of  the 
gentleman,  the  conductor  opened  the  door ;  and 
the  gentleman,  helping  his  wife  in,  first,  after 
wards  lifted  the  children  in,  and  then  got  in  him 
self.  The  conductor  shut  the  door. 

"  Come,  uncle  George,"  said  Hollo,  "  is  not  it 
time  for  us  to  get  up  to  our  places  ?  " 


76          HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Harnessing  the  horses.  Hollo's  climb. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  They  will  tell  us 
when  the  proper  time  comes." 

So  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  remained  quietly 
standing  by  the  side  of  the  diligence  while  the 
hostlers  finished  harnessing  the  horses.  Rollo 
during  this  time  was  examining  with  great  in 
terest  the  little  steps  and  projections  on  the 
side  of  the  coach  by  which  he  expected  that  he 
and  Mr.  George  were  to  climb  up  to  their  places. 

It  turned  out  in  the  end,  however,  that  he 
was  disappointed  in  his  expectation  of  having  a 
good  climb ;  for,  when  the  conductor  was  ready 
for  the  banquette  passengers  to  take  their  places, 
he  brought  the  step  ladder  and  planted  it  against 
the  side  of  the  vehicle,  and  Mr.  George  and 
Rollo  went  up  as  easily  as  they  would  have 
gone  up  stairs. 

When  the  passengers  were  seated  the  step 
ladder  was  taken  away,  and  a  moment  after 
wards  the  postilion  started  the  horses  forward, 
and  the  ponderous  vehicle  began  to  move  down 
the  archway,  the  clattering  of  the  horses'  hoofs 
ana  the  lumbering  noise  of  the  wheels  sounding 
very  loud  in  consequence  of  the  echoes  and  re 
verberations  produced  by  the  sides  and  vaulting 
of  the  archway.  As  soon  as  the  diligence  reached 
the  street  the  postilion  began  to  crack  his  whip 
to  the  right  and  left  in  the  most  loud  and 


RIDE  TO  BERNE. 


77 


Starting  of  the  diligence. 


Where  is  the  conductor/ 


THE   DILIGENCE    AT   THE    OFFICE. 

vehement  manner,  and  the  coach  went  thunder 
ing  on  through  the  narrow  streets  of  the  town, 
driving  every  thing  from  before  it  as  if  it  were 
a  railway  train  going  express. 

11  Uncle  George,"  exclaimed  Rollo,  "  they  have 
forgotten  the  conductor  !  " 

Rollo  was,  in  fact,  quite  concerned  for  a  few 
minutes  lest  the  conductor  should  have  been  left 


78          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Strange  feats  of  the  conductor  in  climbing. 

behind.  He  knew  where  this  official's  proper  seat 
was  ;  namely,  at  the  left  end  of  the  banquette 
—  that  is,  at  the  right  hand,  as  seen  in  the  en 
graving  ;  and  as  he  was  not  there,  and  as  he 
knew  that  all  the  other  seats  were  full,  he  pre 
sumed,  of  course,  that  he  had  been  left  behind. 
He  was  relieved  of  these  fears,  however,  very 
soon  ;  for,  to  his  great  astonishment,  he  sudden 
ly  perceived  the  head  of  the  conductor  coming 
up  the  side  of  the  coach,  followed  gradually  by 
the  rest  of  his  body  as  he  climbed  up  to  his 
place.  Rollo  wondered  how  he  could  manage 
to  get  on  and  climb  up,  especially  as  the  coach 
was  at  this  time  thundering  along  a  descending 
portion  of  the  street  with  a  speed  and  uproar 
that  was  terrific. 

Rollo,  though  at  first  very  much  astonished  at 
this  performance  of  the  conductor,  afterwards 
ceased  to  wonder  at  it  ;  for  he  found  that  the 
conductor  could  ascend  and  descend  to  and  from 
his  seat  at  any  time  without  any  difficulty,  even 
while  the  horses  were  going  at  the  top  of  their 
speed.  If  the  snapper  of  the  coachman's  whip 
got  caught  in  the  harness  so  that  he  could  not 
liberate  it,  as  it  often  did  on  the  road,  the  con 
ductor  would  climb  down,  run  forward  to  the 
horses,  set  the  snapper  free,  fall  back  to  the 
coach,  catch  hold  of  the  side  and  climb  up,  the 


RlDETOBERNE.  79 

Rollo  on  the  top  of  the  diligence  looking  in  at  second-story  windows. 

coachman  cracking  his  whip  as  soon  as  it  was 
freed,  and  urging  on  his  horses  to  a  gallop,  with 
out  troubling  himself  at  all  to  consider  how  the 
conductor  was  to  get  up  again. 

But  to  return  to  the  story.  When  Rollo  found 
that  the  conductor  was  safe  he  amused  himself 
by  looking  to  the  right  and  left  into  the  win 
dows  of  the  houses  at  the  second  story.  His 
seat  was  so  high  that  he  could  do  this  very  easi 
ly.  Many  of  these  windows  were  open,  and 
persons  were  sitting  at  them,  sewing  or  reading. 
At  some  of  them  groups  of  children  were  stand 
ing.  They  were  looking  out  to  see  the  diligence 
go  by.  The  street  was  so  narrow  that  Rollo 
found  himself  very  near  these  persons  as  he 
passed  by. 

"  A  little  nearer,"  said  he  to  his  uncle  George, 
"  and  I  could  shake  hands  with  them." 

In  a  very  few  minutes  the  coach  passed  under 
a  great  arched  gateway  leading  through  the  wall 
of  the  city,  and  thence  over  a  sort  of  draw 
bridge  which  spanned  the  moat.  Immediately 
afterwards  it  entered  a  region  of  smooth,  green 
fields,  and  pretty  rural  houses,  and  gardens, 
which  presented  on  every  side  very  charming 
pictures  to  the  view. 

"  Now,  uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  "  won't  we 
have  a  magnificent  ride  ?  " 


80          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Eollo  in  the  coup«§.  The  road  to  Berne. 

Rollo  was  not  disappointed  in  his  anticipations. 
He  found  the  ride  to  Berne  a  very  magnificent 
one  indeed.  The  road  was  smooth  and  hard 
as  a  floor.  From  side  to  side  it  was  flat  and 
level,  and,  all  the  ascents  which  it  made  were 
so  gradual  that  the  horses  trotted  on  at  their 
full  speed,  without  any  cessation,  sweeping 
around  long  and  graceful  curves,  which  brought 
continually  into  view  new  landscapes,  each  one, 
as  it  seemed,  more  varied  and  beautiful  than  the 
one  which  had  preceded  it.  From  his  lofty  seat 
on  the  banquette  Rollo  looked  abroad  over  a 
very  wide  extent  of  country ;  and  when  the 
coach  stopped  at  the  villages  or  post  houses  to 
change  horses,  he  could  look  down  with  great 
advantage  upon  the  fresh  teams  as  they  were 
brought  out  and  upon  the  groups  of  hostlers 
and  post  boys  employed  in  shifting  the  harness. 
He  could  hear,  too,  all  that  they  said,  though 
they  generally  talked  so  fast,  and  mingled  their 
words  with  so  much  laughter  and  fun,  that  Rollo 
found  that  he  could  understand  but  little. 

Rollo  was  particularly  struck,  as  he  was  whirled 
swiftly  along  the  road,  by  the  appearance  of  the 
Swiss  houses.  They  were  very  large,  and  were 
covered  with  a  very  broad  roof,  which  extended 
so  far  over  the  walls  on  every  side  as  to  appear 
ake  a  great,  square,  broad-brimmed  hat.  Under 


ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND.         83 

Construction  of  the  Swiss  cottages. 

this  roof  were  platforms  projecting  from  the 
house,  one  on  each  story,  like  piazzas.  These 
piazzas  were  very  broad.  They  were  bordered 
by  balustrades  on  the  outer  edge,  and  were  used 
for  sheds,  store  houses,  and  tool  rooms.  There 
were  wood  piles,  wagons,  harrows,  and  other 
farming  implements,  bundles  of  straw,  and  stones 
piled  up  here  and  there  upon  them.  In  fact, 
the  Swiss  cottager  has  his  house,  and  barn, 
and  sheds,  and  outhouses  all  under  one  roof; 
and  what  there  is  not  room  for  within  he  stores 
without  upon  these  platforms. 

These  houses  were  situated  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  beautiful  fields  and  gardens,  the  whole 
forming  a  series  of  very  charming  landscapes. 
The  view,  too,  as  seen  in  many  places  along  the 
road,  was  bounded  at  the  south  by  a  long  line 
of  snow-covered  mountains,  which  glittered  bril 
liantly  in  the  sun  and  imparted  an  inexpressible 
fascination  to  the  prospect. 

The  diligence  arrived  at  the  city  of  Berne  near 
night,  and  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  remained  in  that 
city  until  the  next  day  at  noon.  Rollo  was  ex 
tremely  interested  in  walking  about  the  streets  in 
the  morning.  In  almost  all  the  streets  of  Berne 
the  second  stories  of  the  houses  are  extended 
over  the  sidewalks,  the  superincumbent  masonry 
oeing  supported  by  massive  square  pillars,  built 


84  RlDE    TO    BERNE. 

Arcades.  The  story  of  Berchtold. 

up  from  the  edge  of  the  sidewalk  below,  and  by 
arches  above.  Of  course,  in  going  along  the 
sidewalk  the  passenger  is  sheltered  by  the  roof 
above  him,  and  in  the  worst  weather  he  can  go 
all  over  the  city  without  being  exposed  to  the 
rain  excepting  at  the  street  crossings.  This 
arrangement  is  a  very  convenient  one,  certainly, 
for  rainy  weather ;  but  it  gives  the  streets  a 
very  gloomy  and  forbidding  appearance  at  other 
times. 

Still  Rollo  was  very  much  amused  in  walking 
along  under  these  arcades  ;  the  more  so  because, 
in  addition  to  the  shops  in  the  buildings  them 
selves,  there  were  usually  stalls  and  stands,  be 
tween  and  around  the  pillars,  filled  with  curious 
things  of  all  sorts,  which  were  for  sale  ;  so  that 
in  walking  along  he  had  a  display  of  goods  on 
both  sides  of  him.  These  goods  consisted  of 
toys,  books,  pictures,  tools,  implements,  and  curi 
osities,  including  a  multitude  of  things  which 
Rollo  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  before. 

Berne  is  famous  for  bears.  The  bear  is,  in 
fact,  the  emblem  of  the  city,  and  of  the  canton, 
or  province,  in  which  Berne  is  situated.  There 
is  a  story  that  in  very  ancient  times,  when  Berch 
told,  the  original  founder  of  the  city,  was  begin 
ning  to  build  the  walls,  a  monstrous  bear  came 
out  of  the  woods  to  attack  him.  Berchtold,  with 


ROLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND.          85 

The  bear  garden  at  Berne. 

the  assistance  of  the  men  who  were  at  work  with 
him  on  the  walls,  killed  the  bear.  They  gloried 
greatly  in  this  exploit,  and  they  preserved  the 
skin  and  claws  of  the  bear  for  a  long  time  as  the 
trophy  of  their  victory.  Afterwards  they  made 
the  bear  their  emblem.  They  painted  the  figure 
of  the  animal  on  their  standards.  They  made 
images  and  effigies  of  him  to  ornament  their 
streets,  and  squares,  and  fountains,  and  public 
buildings.  They  stamped  the  image  of  him  on 
their  coins  ;  and,  to  this  day,  you  see  figures  of 
the  bear  every  where  in  Berne.  Carved  images 
of  Bruin  in  every  attitude  are  for  sale  in  the 
shops  ;  and,  not  contented  with  these  lifeless 
symbols,  the  people  of  Berne  for  a  long  time  had 
a  pit,  or  den,  similar  to  those  in  the  Garden  of 
Plants  at  Paris,  where  they  kept  living  speci 
mens  for  a  long  time.*  This  den  was  just  without 
the  gates  of  the  city.  The  guide  book  which 
Rollo  read  as  he  was  coming  into  Berne,  to  see 
what  it  said  about  the  city,  stated  that  there  was 
one  bear  in  the  garden  at  that  time ;  and  he 
wished  very  much  to  go  and  see  it,  but  he  did 
not  have  a  very  convenient  opportunity. 

*  See  Rollo  in  Paris  for  an  account  of  these  dens  for  bears  in 
the  Garden  of  Plants. 


86        THE  VALLEY  OP  THE  AAB. 


Mr.  George  and  Rollo  arrive  at  Thun. 


CHAPTER   VI. 
THE  VALLEY  OP  THE  AAB. 

AFTER  spending  several  hours  in  Berne  and 
wondering  greatly  at  the  many  strange  things 
which  they  saw  there,  Mr.  George  and  Rollo 
took  their  passage  in  another  diligence  for  Thun, 
which  was  a  town  still  farther  in  towards  the 
heart  of  Switzerland  on  the  way  to  Interlachen. 
It  took  only  three  or  four  hours  to  go  to  Thun. 
The  town,  they  found,  was  small,  compact,  sur 
rounded  by  walls,  and  very  delightfully  situated 
at  the  end  of  a  long  lake,  which  extended  from 
that  point  very  far  in  among  the  mountains. 
There  was  one  thing  very  remarkable  about 
Thun,  at  least  it  seemed  very  remarkable  to  Rol 
lo,  although  he  found  afterwards  that  it  was  a 
common  thing  in  Switzerland  ;  and  that  was,  that 
the  hotels  were  all  outside  the  town. 

There  was  reason  in  this ;  for  the  town  — 
though  it  was  a  very  curious  and  romantic  place, 
with  a  church  on  a  terraced  hill  at  one  end  of  it, 
surrounded  with  a  beautifully  ornamented  church 


ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND.         87 

A  prospect.  The  pavilion  upon  the  crags. 

yard,  with  seats  and  bowers  here  and  there  at 
the  corners  of  it,  which  overlooked  the  country 
and  commanded  charming  views  of  the  lake  and 
mountains  —  was  still,  in  the  main,  very  con 
tracted  and  confined,  and  hotels  would  not  be 
pleasantly  situated  in  it.  A  little  beyond  the 
town,  however,  on  the  margin  of  the  lake,  was  a 
delightful  region  of  gardens  and  pleasure  grounds, 
with  four  or  five  very  handsome  hotels  among 
them.  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  stopped  to  dine 
at  one  of  these  hotels.  From  the  windows  of  it 
there  were  the  most  brilliant  and  charming  pros 
pects  of  the  lake  and  the  surrounding  mountains 
on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  a  view  of  the 
town  and  of  two  or  three  very  pretty  littlo 
steamboats  lying  at  a  pier. 

Behind  the  hotel  the  land  very  soon  ascended 
rapidly,  the  ascent  terminating  at  last  in  crags 
and  precipices  which  towered  at  a  vast  height 
above.  Among  these  heights  Rollo  saw  a  sort 
of  pavilion,  built  on  a  small  projecting  point  of 
a  hill,  four  or  five  hundred  feet,  perhaps,  above 
the  hotel. 

"Do  you  think  any  body  can  get  up  there?" 
said  he  to  his  uncle  George. 

They  were  standing,  when  Rollo  said  this,  on 
the  back  piazza  of  the  hotel  —  a  very  beautiful 
place,  looking  out  upon  green  lawns  arid  gardens. 


88        THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  AAR. 

Hollo  iindemikes  to  explore  the  path  to  the  pavilion. 

"  Certainly/7  said  Mr.  George.  "  They  would 
not  have  built  such  a  lookout  as  that  without 
making  a  way  to  get  to  it." 

"  Then  let's  go  up  there,"  said  Rollo,  "  and  see 
what  we  can  see.'7 

"  Very  well,77  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  lead  the 
way,  and  I  will  follow.77 

"  Well,  come,77  said  Rollo,  moving  on.  "  I  am 
not  sure  that  I  can  find  the  way  ;  but  I'll  try.77 

So  saying,  Rollo  chose  from  among  several 
broad  and  smooth  gravel  walks  which  he  saw 
diverging  from  the  house  in  various  directions, 
among  the  groves  and  copses  of  shrubbery  that 
ornamented  the  grounds  behind  it,  the  one  which 
seemed  to  turn  most  nearly  in  the  right  direc 
tion  ;  and,  running  along  before,  he  was  soon  out 
of  sight  of  the  hotel.  The  path  meandered 
gracefully  among  shrubs,  and  flowers,  and  pretty 
green  openings  a  little  way,  and  then  began  to 
ascend  the  hill,  sometimes  in  a  winding  course 
and  sometimes  by  zigzags.  There  were  seats 
placed  here  and  there  at  proper  points  for  rest. 
At  length  both  Rollo  and  Mr.  George  were  sur 
prised  to  find  coming  suddenly  into  view  a  small 
building,  which  stood  in  a  very  romantic  and 
picturesque  spot  about  half  way  up  the  hill, 
which  proved,  on  examination,  to  be  a  little 
chapel.  It  was  an  Episcopal  chapel,  built  here 


ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND.         89 

The  chapel  on  the  hill.  Hollo  succeeds  in  finding  the  pavilion. 

by  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel  for  the  accommo 
dation  of  his  English  guests  on  Sundays.  There 
are  a  great  many  English  travellers  in  Switzer 
land,  more  perhaps  from  that  nation  than  from 
any  other,  and  the  English  people  are  very  much 
pleased  with  the  opportunity  to  worship  God, 
when  in  foreign  lands,  according  to  the  rites  and 
usages  of  their  own  national  church.  Ameri 
cans,  on  the  other  hand,  when  travelling,  gen 
erally  prefer  to  attend  churches  in  which  the 
worship  is  conducted  according  to  the  usages  of 
the  people  in  whose  country  they  chance  to  be. 

After  looking  at  the  little  English  chapel  as 
long  as  they  wished,  our  two  travellers  went  on 
up  the  path.  The  ascent  soon  became  very 
steep,  and  the  way  led  through  close  woods, 
which  allowed  of  no  opportunity  to  see,  except 
that  now  and  then  a  brief  glimpse  was  obtained 
of  the  hotel,  with  the  gardens  and  grounds 
around  it,  and  the  gentlemen  and  ladies  walking 
upon  the  piazza  in  the  rear  of  it. 

After  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  hard 
climbing  up  a  wild  and  romantic  but  very 
smooth  and  well  made-path  the  two  young  gen 
tlemen  reached  the  pavilion.  Here  a  boundless 
and  most  magnificent  prospect  was  opened  before 
them.  Kollo  was  bewildered  with  astonishment 
and  delight ;  and  even  Mr.  George,  who  was 


90        THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  AAE. 

The  prospect.  What  attracted  Hollo  ;  what  Mr.  George. 

usually  very  cool  and  quiet  on  such  occasions, 
seemed  greatly  pleased.  I  shall  not,  however, 
attempt  to  describe  the  view ;  for,  though  a  fine 
view  from  an  elevated  point  among  lakes  and 
mountains  is  a  very  exciting  thing  actually  to 
witness  and  enjoy,  it  is  by  no  means  an  interest 
ing  thing  to  describe. 

"  What  a  magnificent  prospect!  "  said  Hollo. 

Rollo,  as  he  said  this,  was  looking  down  at 
the  more  near  and  distinctly  detailed  objects 
which  were  to  be  seen  directly  below  him  at  the 
bottom  of  the  hill,  towards  the  right — such  as 
the  hotels,  the  gardens,  the  roads,  the  pier,  the 
steamboats,  and  the  town.  The  attention  of  Mr. 
George,  however,  was  attracted  by  the  more 
grand  and  sublime  features  of  the  view  which 
were  to  be  seen  in  the  other  direction  —  the 
lake,  the  forests,  and  the  mountains.  The  moun 
tains  that  were  near  were  darkened  by  the 
groves  of  evergreens  that  clothed  their  sides, 
and  some  of  them  were  made  more  sombre  still 
by  the  shadows  of  floating  clouds  ;  while  over 
these  there  towered  the  glittering  summits  of 
more  distant  ranges,  white  with  everlasting 
snow. 

"  How  cold  they  look  1 "  said  Mr.  George ; 
"how  icy  cold!" 

"  How  little  they  look  !  how  very  little !     See, 


ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND.         91 

The  snow  drifts.  An  experiment. 

ancle  George,"  said  Rollo,  pointing ;  "  they  are 
really  good  large  steamboats,  and  you  would 
think  they  were  only  playthings." 

"  There  are  some  men  walking  along  the  road," 
continued  Eollo,  "just  like  little  dots." 

"  See  the  banks  of  snow  on  that  mountain, 
Hollo  ! "  said  Mr.  George.  "  They  look  like  drifts 
of  dry,  light  snow,  as  they  shine  in  the  sun  on  a 
bitter  cold  winter  day." 

"Why  doesn't  it  melt?"  asked  Rollo. 

"  Because  it  is  up  so  high,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"  As  you  go  up  in  the  air  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth  the  air  grows  colder  and  colder,  until  at 
last,  when  you  get  up  to  a  certain  height,  it  is 
cold  enough  to  freeze." 

"  Is  it  so  every  where  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "If  you  were  to 
put  some  water  into  a  vial  and  tie  it  to  the  tail  of 
a  kite,  and  send  it  up  into  the  air  high  enough, 
the  water  would  freeze,  and  when  it  came  down 
you  would  find  the  water  turned  into  ice." 

"Should  I?"  asked  Rollo.  "Would  it  if  I 
were  to  send  the  kite  up  in  America?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  any  where,  all  over 
the  earth." 

"  I  mean  to  try  it,"  said  Rollo. 

"  You  can't  try  it  very  well,"  replied  Mr. 
George  ;  for  you  could  not  easily  send  a  kite 


92         THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  AAR. 

Region  of  perpetual  snow.  The  lake. 

up  high  enough.  It  would  take  a  very  long 
time." 

"  How  long  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"Why,  that  depends  upon  what  part  of  the 
earth  it  is  that  you  make  the  experiment  in," 
replied  Mr.  George.  "At  the  equator,  where 
the  sun  is  very  hot,  you  would  have  to  go  up 
very  high.  In  temperate  regions,  as  in  Switzer 
land  or  in  most  parts  of  America,  you  would  not 
have  to  go  up  so  high  ;  and  farther  north,  near 
the  pole,  it  is  only  necessary  to  go  up  a  very 
little  way." 

"  And  how  high  must  we  go  up  in  Switzer 
land  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  About  eight  or  nine  thousand  feet,  I  believe," 
said  Mr.  George.  Some  of  the  Alpine  summits 
are  sixteen  thousand  feet  high ;  and  so  the  ice 
and  snow  lie  upon  the  upper  portions  of  them 
all  the  time." 

The  young  gentlemen  remained  some  time 
longer  in  the  pavilion,  gazing  upon  the  stupen 
dous  scenery  around  them,  and  looking  down  the 
lake  which  lay  before  them  in  the  bottom  of  a 
deep  and  narrow  valley  and  extended  in  among 
the  mountains  much  farther  than  they  could  see. 

"  We  are  going  along  that  lake,"  said  Hollo, 
"  are  we  not  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George ;  "  it  is  the  Lake  of 
Thun." 


ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND.         93 

A  choice  of  routes.  The  road  or  the  steamboat. 

"  We  are  going  in  one  of  the  steamboats  that 
are  lying  at  the  pier,  are  we  not  ?  "  said  Hollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George ;  "  unless  you  would 
prefer  going  along  the  shore." 

"  Is  there  a  road  along  the  shore  ?  "  asked 
Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  there  are  two,  I 
believe,  one  on  each  side  of  the  lake.  These 
roads  run  along  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  far 
enough,  however,  above  the  level  of  the  lake  to 
enable  us  to  enjoy  excellent  views  of  it.  But 
we  cannot  see  the  mountains  from  it  as  well  as 
we  can  from  the  lake  itself." 

"  Then,"  said  Rollo,  "  if  we  go  by  the  road 
we  can  see  the  lake  best ;  and  if  we  go  by  the 
steamboat  we  can  see  the  mountains  best." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  that  is  the  state 
of  the  case,  exactly." 

"  Then  I  think  we  had  better  go  by  the  Doat," 
said  Rollo  ;  "  for  I  would  rather  see  the  moun 
tains." 

"  So  would  I,"  rejoined  Mr.  George.  "  Besides, 
there  will  be  plenty  of  occasions  on  which  we 
shall  be  obliged  to  go  by  land  ;  therefore  we  had 
better  go  by  water  when  we  can,  in  order  to 
have  a  variety.  And,  if  we  are  going  in  the 
Bteamer,  we  must  go  back  to  the  hotel  ;  for  it  is 
almost  time  for  the  steamer  to  sail." 


94:         THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  AAR. 

The  valley  of  the  Aar.  Bridle  paths. 

So  Mr.  George  led  the  way,  and  Rollo  fol 
lowed,  down  the  path  by  which  they  had  come 
up.  As  they  thus  walked  down  they  continued 
the  conversation  which  they  had  commenced  in 
the  pavilion. 

"  What  shall  we  come  to  when  we  get  to  the 
end  of  the  lake?"  asked  Rollo.  "Does  the  lake 
reach  to  the  end  of  the  valley?  " 

"No,"  said  Mr.  George.  "The  valley  is 
about  fifty  miles  long,  I  suppose,  and  this  lake 
is  only  about  fifteen  miles  long  ;  but  there  is 
another  in  the  same  valley  a  little  farther  on. 
The  valley  is  the  valley  of  the  Aar.  That  is 
the  name  of  the  stream  which  flows  through  it. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  valleys  in  Swit 
zerland.  I  have  been  studying  it  in  the  guide 
book  and  on  the  map.  It  is  about  fifty  miles 
long,  and  it  winds  in  a  serpentine  manner  be 
tween  two  lofty  ranges  of  mountains,  so  steep 
and  high  that  it  is  not  possible  to  make  any 
road  over  them." 

"  None  at  all  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"No,"  replied  Mr.  George.  "They  cannot 
make  any  road  —  nothing  but  bridle  paths.  The 
mountains,  too,  that  border  the  valley  along  the 
sides  close  across  at  the  head  of  it ;  so  that  if  you 
go  up  the  valley  at  all  you  cannot  get  out  of  it 
without  climbing  over  the  mountains;  unless, 


ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND.         95 

Meyringen.  Its  cascades. 

indeed,  you  are  willing  to  come  back  the  same 
way  that  you  went." 

"I  would  rather  climb  over  the  mountains," 
said  Rollo. 

"  So  would  I,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  The  be 
ginning  of  this  valley,"  continued  Mr.  George, 
"is  in  the  very  heart  of  the -most  mountain 
ous  part  of  Switzerland,  and  the  River  Aar 
commences  there  in  prodigious  cascades  and 
waterfalls,  which  come  down  over  the  cliffs  and 
precipices  or  gush  out  from  enormous  crevices 
and  chasms,  and  make  quite  a  river  at  the  very 
beginning." 

"  Can  we  go  there  and  see  them  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  George ;  "  I  mean  to  go 
and  see  them.  The  place  is  called  Meyrin 
gen.  The  cascades  and  waterfalls  at  Meyrin 
gen  are  wonderful.  One  of  them,  the  guide  book 
says,  makes  dreadful  work  in  times  of  flood.  It 
comes  out  from  a  great  chasm  in  the  rocks  in 
the  face  of  a  precipice  at  a  vast  height  from  the 
ground  ;  and,  in  times  of  flood,  it  brings  down 
such  a  mass  of  sand,  gravel,  stones,  rubbish,  and 
black  mud  as  sometimes  to  threaten  to  over 
whelm  the  village." 

"Is  there  a  village  there?"  asked  Rollo. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  George;  "the  village  of 
Meyringen.  This  waterfall  comes  down  out  of 


96         THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  AAR. 

The  Fall  of  Alpbach.  The  lakes. 

the  mountain  just  back  of  the  village  ;  and  they 
have  had  to  build  up  an  immense  wall,  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  long  and  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high, 
to  keep  the  torrent  of  mud  and  sand  out  of  the 
streets.  Once  it  broke  through  and  filled  up 
the  church  four  feet  deep  all  over  the  floor  with 
mud,  and  gravel,  and  stones.  Some  of  the  stones 
were  bigger  than  your  head." 

Hollo  was  very  much  interested  in  hearing 
this  account  of  the  Fall  of  Alpbach, — for  that 
was  the  name  of  this  unmanageable  cataract, — 
and  expressed  a  very  strong  desire  to  go  to 
Meyringen  and  see  it. 

"  We  will  go,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  It  lies  at 
the  head  of  the  valley  of  the  Aar,  which  we  are 
now  entering.  The  River  Aar,  after  being 
formed  by  these  cataracts  and  cascades,  flows 
through  the  valley,  making  two  long  lakes  in  its 
course.  This  Lake  of  Thun  is  the  second  one. 
The  other  is  the  Lake  of  Brienz.  The  upper 
end  of  the  Lake  of  Thun  is  a  few  miles  only  from 
the  lower  end  of  the  Lake  of  Brienz  ;  and  Inter- 
lachen  is  between  the  two." 

About  an  hour  after  this  conversation  our  two 
travellers  might  have  been  seen  sitting  together 
upon  the  deck  of  the  little  steamer  which  was 
paddling  its  way  merrily  along  the  lake,  and  oc 
cupying  themselves  in  viewing  and  talking  about 


:-:   ' 


ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND.         97 

View  of  Swiss  scenery  from  the  lake. 

the  extraordinary  spectacle  presented  by  the 
slopes  of  the  mountains  which  bordered  the  lake 
on  either  side,  and  which  seemed  to  shut  the 
lake  in,  as  it  were,  between  two  immense  walls 
of  green. 

Rollo  was  extremely  interested,  as  he  sailed 
along,  in  viewing  these  mountain  slopes,  explor 
ing  the  landscape  carefully  in  every  part,  study 
ing  out  all  the  objects  of  interest  which  it  con 
tained —  the  forests,  the  cultivated  fields,  the 
great  Swiss  cottages,  the  pasturages,  the  little 
chalets,  the  zigzag  paths  leading  up  and  down, 
and  all  the  other  picturesque  and  striking  char 
acteristics  of  a  Swiss  landscape. 

The  slopes  were  very  beautiful,  and  densely 
inhabited ;  and  they  were  really  very  steep, 
though  they  looked  much  steeper  than  they 
were,  as  all  hills  and  slopes  do  to  a  person  look 
ing  upon  them  from  below  and  facing  them. 

"  It  seems/7  said  Rollo  to  Mr.  George,  "  as  if 
two  broad  strips  of  green  country  were  set 
up  on  edge  for  us  to  see  them  as  we  are  sailing 
along." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George ;  "  with  all  the  houses, 
farms,  pasturages,  flocks  of  sheep,  and  herds  of 
cattle  clinging  to  the  sides  of  them." 

The  chief  charm,  however,  of  the  views  which 
presented  themselves  to  the  young  travellers  aa 


98          ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  snow-clad  peaks.  Fellow-travellers. 

they  glided  along  the  lake  was  the  glittering 
refulgence  of  the  snow-clad  peaks  which  ap 
peared  here  and  there  through  openings  among 
the  nearer  mountains.  The  view  of  these  peaks 
was  occasionally  obstructed  by  masses  of  va 
por  which  were  floating  along  the  tops  of  the 
mountain  ranges  ;  but  still  they  were  seen  fre 
quently  enough  to  fill  the  minds  both  of  Rollo 
and  Mr.  George  with  wonder  and  delight. 

After  gazing  at  this  scenery  for  nearly  an 
hour  until  his  curiosity  in  respect  to  it  was  in 
some  measure  satisfied,  Rollo  began  to  turn  his 
attention  to  his  fellow-travellers  on  board  the 
steamer.  These  travellers  were  seated  singly  or 
in  groups  about  the  deck  of  the  little  vessel,  and 
they  were  all  tourists,  journeying  for  pleasure. 
Here  was  a  small  group  of  young  men —  students 
apparently  —  with  knapsacks  on  their  backs, 
spyglasses  strapped  to  their  sides,  and  maps  and 
guide  books  in  their  hands.  There  was  a  young 
lady  seated  with  her  father,  both  dressed  for  the 
mountains,  and  gazing  with  curiosity  and  won 
der  on  the  views  presented  along  the  shores 
of  the  lake.  In  another  place  was  a  family  of 
parents  and  children  —  the  father  studying  a 
map  which  he  had  spread  open  upon  his  knees , 
the  mother  sitting  by  his  side,  silent  and  thought 
ful,  as  if  her  mind  was  far  away,  dwelling,  per- 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  AAE.        99 

Their  object  in  travelling.  Mountain  paths. 

haps,  upon  the  little  ones  which  had  been  left  at 
home  because  they  were  too  young  to  be  taken 
on  such  a  tour.  Some  of  these  people  were  talk 
ing  French,  some  English,  and  some  German. 
Rollo  looked  about  upon  these  various  groups 
for  a  time,  and  then  said,  — 

"  Are  all  these  travellers  going  to  see  the 
mountains,  do  you  suppose,  uncle  George  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  I  suppose  so. 
There  is  very  little  travelling  in  Switzerland 
except  pleasure  travelling.  I  presume  they  are 
all  going  to  see  the  mountains  and  the  other 
scenery  of  the  country." 

"  I  should  not  think  that  the  ladies  could  climb 
up  the  mountains  very  high,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  they  can ;  for  in 
almost  all  places  where  people  wish  to  go  there 
are  excellent  paths.  Where  it  is  too  steep  for 
roads  the  mountaineers  make  zigzag  paths,  not 
only  for  travellers,  but  for  themselves,  in  order 
that  they  may  go  up  and  down  to  their  chalets 
and  pasturages.  The  people  of  the  country 
have  been  making  and  improving  these  paths 
now  for  two  thousand  years  or  more,  and  they 
have  got  them  at  last  in  very  excellent  con 
dition  ;  so  that,  except  the  steepness,  they  are 
very  easy  and  very  comfortable." 

"  Why,  uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  "  look!  " 


100        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

A  change  of  scenery. 

So  saying,  Hollo  pointed  his  finger  out  over 
the  water.  The  mountains  had  suddenly  and 
entirely  disappeared.  The  vapors  and  clouds 
which  they  had  seen  floating  among  them  half 
an  hour  before  had  become  dense  and  continu 
ous,  and  had,  moreover,  settled  down  over  the 
whole  face  of  the  country  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  shut  out  the  mountains  wholly  from  view. 
Nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  the  water  of  the 
lake,  with  a  margin  of  low  and  level  but  beau 
tiful  country  along  the  shores  of  it. 

In  fact,  there  was  nothing  but  the  smallness 
of  the  steamer  and  the  costumes  and  character 
of  the  passengers  to  prevent  Hollo  and  Mr. 
George  from  supposing  that  they  were  steaming 
it  from  New  York  to  Albany,  up  the  North  Riv 
er,  in  America. 


INTERLACJHEN,,,,^  ,,t  ,    101 


The  morning  in  Interlachen.  '  The  hoW. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
INTERLA  c  HEN. 

ABOUT  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  after  our 
travellers  arrived  at  Interlachen  Rollo  awoke, 
and,  rising  from  his  bed,  he  walked  to  the  win 
dow  and  looked  out,  expecting  to  find  before 
him  a  very  grand  prospect  of  Alpine  scenery  ; 
but  there  was  nothing  of  the  kind  to  be  seen. 

Before  the  house  was  a  garden,  with  a  broad 
gravel  walk  leading  out  through  it  to  the  road. 
On  each  side  of  this  walk  were  parterres  of 
shrubbery  and  flowers.  There  were  also  two 
side  approaches,  wide  enough  for  roads.  They 
came  from  the  main  road  through  great  open 
gates,  at  a  little  distance  to  the  right  and  left  of 
the  hotel.  The  main  road,  which  was  broad  and 
perfectly  level,  extended  in  front  of  the  house ; 
and  two  or  three  Swiss  peasants,  in  strange 
costume,  were  passing  by.  Beyond  were  green 
and  level  fields,  with  fruit  and  forest  trees 
rising  here  and  there  among  them,  forming  a 
very  rich  and  attractive  landscape.  The  sky 


102          BpLLQ    IN    SWITZERLAND. 


.  — v : 


TBere*  aVe  no  fhouiitalris  to  be  seen.  The  rapid  stream. 

was  covered  with  clouds,  though  they  were  very 
fleecy  and  bright,  and  in  one  place  the  sun 
seemed  just  ready  to  break  through. 

"  I  thought  Interlachen  was  among  the  moun 
tains,"  said  Eollo  to  himself;  "  and  here  I  am  in 
the  middle  of  a  flat  plain. 

"  I  will  go  and  see  uncle  George,"  he  con 
tinued  after  a  moment's  pause,  "  and  ask  him 
what  it  means." 

So  Rollo  opened  the  door  of  his  room  and 
went  out  into  what  in  America  would  be  called 
the  entry,  or  hall.  He  found  himself  in  a  long 
corridor  paved  with  stone,  and  having  broad 
stone  staircases  leading  up  and  down  from  it  to 
the  different  stories.  In  one  place  there  was  a 
passage  way  which  led  to  a  window  that  seemed 
to  be  on  the  back  side  of  the  hotel.  Rollo  went 
there  to  look  out,  in  order  to  see  what  the  pros 
pect  might  be  in  that  direction. 

He  saw  first  the  gardens  and  grounds  of  the 
hotel,  extending  for  a  short  distance  in  the  rear 
of  the  building,  and  beyond  them  he  obtained 
glimpses  of  a  rapidly  running  stream.  The 
water  was  very  turbid.  It  boiled  and  whirled 
incessantly  as  it  swept  swiftly  along  the  channel. 

"  Ah,"  said  Rollo,  "  that  is  the  River  Aar,  I 
Buppose,  flowing  through  Interlachen  from  one 
lake  to  the  other.  I  thought  I  should  see  it 


INTERLACE  EN.  103 

The  precipice  concealed  by  the  clouds. 

somewhere  here ;  but  I  did  not  know  whether  it 
was  before  the  hotels  or  behind  them." 

A  short  ^distance  beyond  the  stream  Rollo 
saw  the  lower  part  of  a  perpendicular  precipice 
of  gray  rock.  All  except  the  lower  part  of 
this  precipice  was  concealed  by  the  fogs  and 
clouds,  which  seemed  to  settle  down  so  low 
upon  the  landscape  in  all  directions  as  to  con 
ceal  almost  every  thing  but  the  surface  of  the 
ground. 

"I  wonder  how  high  that  precipice  is,"  said 
Rollo  to  himself. 

"I  wonder  whether  I  could  climb  up  to  the 
top  of  it,"  he  continued,  still  talking  to  himself, 
"  if  I  could  only  find  some  way  to  get  across  the 
river?  There  must  be  some  way,  I  suppose. 
Perhaps  there  is  a  bridge." 

Rollo  then  turned  his  eye  upward  to  look  at 
the  clouds.  In  one  place  there  seemed  to  be  a 
break  among  them,  and  the  fleecy  masses  around 
the  break  were  slowly  moving  along.  The  place 
where  Rollo  was  looking  was  about  the  middle 
of  the  sky  ;  that  is,  about  midway  between  the 
horizon  and  the  zenith.*  While  Rollo  was  look 
ing  at  this  break,  which  seemed,  while  he  looked 
at  it,  to  brighten  up  and  open  more  and  more, 


*  The  zenith  is  the  point  in  the  heavens  that  is  directly  ovei 
»ur  heads 


104        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Trees  in  the  clouds.  A  surprising  spectacle. 

he  saw  suddenly,  to  his  utter  amazement,  a  large, 
green  tree  burst  into  view  in  the  midst  of  it,  and 
then  disappear  again  a  moment  afterwards  as  a 
fresh  mass  of  cloudy  vapor  drifted  over.  Hollo 
was  perfectly  bewildered  with  astonishment. 
To  see  a  green  tree,  clear  and  distinct  in  form 
and  bright  with  the  beams  of  the  sun  which  just 
at  that  instant  caught  upon  it,  breaking  out  to 
view  suddenly  high  up  among  the  clouds  of  the 
sky,  seemed  truly  an  astonishing  spectacle. 
Hollo  had  scarcely  recovered  from  the  first 
emotion  of  his  surprise  before  the  clouds  parted 
again,  wider  than  before,  and  brought  into  view, 
first  a  large  mass  of  foliage,  which  formed  the 
termination  of  a  grove  of  trees ;  then  a  portion 
of  a  smooth,  green  field,  with  a  flock  of  sheep 
feeding  upon  it,  clinging  apparently  to  the  steep 
slope  like  flies  to  a  wall ;  and  finally  a  house, 
with  a  little  blue  smoke  curling  from  the  chim 
ney.  Rollo  was  perfectly  beside  himself  with 
astonishment  and  delight  at  this  spectacle  ;  and 
he  determined  immediately  to  go  and  ask  his 
uncle  to  come  and  see. 

He  accordingly  left  the  window  and  made  all 
haste  to  his  uncle's  door.  He  knocked.  His 
uncle  said,  "  Come  in."  Rollo  opened  the  door. 
His  uncle  was  standing  by  the  window  of  his 
room,  looking  out.  This  was  on  the  front  side 
of  the  hotel. 


INTERLACHEN.  105 

Alpine  scenery.  The  Jungfrau. 

"  Uncle  George  !  "  said  Rollo,  "  Uncle  George! 
Come  and  look  out  with  me  at  the  back  window. 
There  is  a  flock  of  sheep  feeding  in  a  green 
field  away  up  in  the  sky ! " 

"  Come  and  look  here ! "  said  Mr.  George. 

So  Rollo  went  to  the  window  where  Mr. 
George  was  standing,  and  his  astonishment  at 
what  he  saw  was  even  greater  than  before.  The 
clouds  had  separated  into  great  fleecy  masses 
and  were  slowly  drifting  away,  while  through 
the  openings  that  appeared  in  them  there  were 
seen  bright  and  beautiful  views  of  groves,  green 
pasturages,  smiling  little  hamlets  and  villages, 
green  fields,  and  here  and  there  dark  forests  of 
evergreen  trees,  with  peaks  of  rocks  or  steep 
precipices  peeping  out  among  them.  At  one 
place,  through  an  opening  or  gap  in  the  nearer 
mountains,  there  could  be  seen  far  back  towards 
the  horizon  the  broad  sides  and  towering  peak 
of  a  distant  summit,  which  seemed  to  be  wholly 
formed  of  vast  masses  of  ice  and  snow,  and  which 
glittered  with  an  inexpressible  brilliancy  under 
the  rays  of  the  morning  sun. 

"  That  is  the  Jungfrau,"  *  said  Mr.  George. 

"  That  great  icy  mountain  ?  "  said  Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George. 

"  Can  we  get  up  to  the  top  of  it  ?  "  asked 
Rollo. 

*  Pronounced  Yoongfrow. 


106        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Hunting  the  chamois.  Difficulties  of  climbing  the  Jungfrau 

"No/7  said  Mr.  George.  "People  tried  for 
more  than  a  thousand  years  to  get  to  the  top  of 
the  Jungfrau  before  they  could  succeed." 

"  And  did  they  succeed  at  last  ?  "  asked  Hollo. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  George.  "  You  see  there 
is  a  sort  of  goatlike  animal,  called  the  chamois* 
which  the  peasants  and  mountaineers  are  very 
fond  of  hunting.  These  animals  are  great  climb 
ers,  and  they  get  up  among  the  highest  peaks 
and  into  the  most  dangerous  places ;  and  the 
hunters,  in  going  into  such  places  after  them, 
become  at  last  very  expert  in  climbing,  and 
sometimes  they  become  ambitious  of  surpassing 
each  other,  and  each  one  wishes  to  see  how  high 
he  can  get.  So  one  time,  about  twenty-five 
years  ago,  a  party  of  six  of  these  hunters  under 
took  to  get  to  the  top  of  the  Jungfrau,  and  at 
last  they  succeeded.  But  it  was  a  dreadfully 
difficult  and  dangerous  operation.  It  was  fifteen 
miles'  steep  climbing." 

"Not  steep  climbing  all  the  way,"  said  Rollo. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I  suppose  not  all  the 
way.  There  must  have  been  some  up-and-down 
work,  and  some  perhaps  tolerably  level,  for  the 
first  ten  miles  ;  but  the  last  five  must  have  been 
a  perpetual  scramble  among  rocks  and  ice,  and 

*  Pronounced  shamwawh. 


INTERLACHEN.  107 

Mr.  George  describes  the  Wengern  Alp  and  the  valley  of  the  LUtschine. 

over  vast  drifts  of  snow,  with  immense  ava 
lanches  thundering  down  the  mountain  sides  all 
around  them." 

"  I  wish  I  could  go  and  see  them/'  said  Rollo. 

"  You  can  go,"  replied  Mr.  George.  "  There 
is  a  most  excellent  chance  to  see  the  face  of  the 
Jungfrau  very  near  ;  for  there  is  another  moun 
tain  this  side  of  it,  with  a  narrow  valley  between. 
This  other  mountain  is  called  the  Wengern  Alp. 
It  is  about  two  thirds  the  height  of  the  Jungfrau, 
and  is  so  near  it  that  from  the  top  of  it,  or  near 
the  top,  you  can  see  the  whole  side  of  the  Jung 
frau  rising  right  before  you  and  filling  half  the 
sky,  and  you  can  see  and  hear  the  avalanches 
thundering  down  the  sides  of  it  all  day  long." 

Rollo  was  quite  excited  at  this  account,  and 
was  very  eager  to  set  off  as  soon  as  possible  to 
go  up  the  Wengern  Alp. 

"  How  do  we  get  there  ?  "  asked  he. 

"  You  see  this  great  gap  in  the  near  moun 
tains,"  said  Mr.  George,  pointing. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo. 

"That  gap,"  continued  Mr.  George,  "is  the 
mouth  of  a  valley.  I  have  been  studying  it  out 
this  morning  in  my  guide  book.  There  is  a  good 
carriage  road  leading  up  this  valley.  It  is 
called  the  valley  of  the  Lutschine,  because  that  is 
the  name  of  the  river  which  comes  down  through 


108        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Two  ways  of  approaching  the  Jungfrau. 

it.  In  going  up  this  valley  for  the  first  two  or 
three  miles  we  are  going  directly  towards  the 
Jungfrau." 

"Yes,"  said  Rollo.  "That  I  can  see  very 
olainly." 

This  was  indeed  very  obvious ;  for  the  Jung 
frau,  from  the  windows  of  the  hotel,  was  seen 
through  the  great  gap  in  the  near  mountains 
which  Mr.  George  had  pointed  out  as  the  mouth 
of  the  valley  of  the  Liitschine.  In  fact,  had  it 
not  been  for  that  gap  in  the  near  mountains,  the 
great  snow-covered  summit  could  not  have  been 
seen  from  the  hotels  at  all. 

"  We  go  up  that  valley,"  continued  Mr.  George, 
"  about  three  miles,  and  then  we 'come  to  a  fork 
in  it ;  that  is,  to  a  place  where  the  valley  divides 
into  two  branches,  one  turning  off  to  the  right 
and  the  other  to  the  left.  Directly  ahead  there  is 
an  enormous  precipice,  I  don't  know  how  many 
thousand  feet  high,  of  bare  rock. 

"  One  of  these  branch  valleys,"  continued  Mr. 
George,  *  leads  up  to  one  side  of  the  Wengern 
Alp  and  the  Jungfrau,  and  the  other  to  the  other 
side.  We  may  take  the  right-hand  valley  and 
go  up  five  or  six  miles  to  Lauterbrunnen,  or  we 
may  take  the  left-hand  branch  and  go  up  to 
Grindelwald.  Which  way  do  you  think  we 
had  better  go  ?  " 


iNTERLACHEN.  1UO 

Waterfalls  and  glaciers.  Lauterbrunnen. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  Eollo.  "  Can  we  get 
up  to  the  Wengern  Alp  from  either  valley  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "We  can  go  up 
from  one  of  these  valleys,  and  then,  after  stop 
ping  as  long  as  we  choose  on  the  Alp,  we  can 
continue  our  journey  and  so  come  down  into 
the  other,  and  thus  see  them  both.  One  of  the 
valleys  is  famous  for  two  great  glaciers  that 
descend  into  it.  The  other  is  famous  for  im 
mense  waterfalls  that  come  down  over  the  preci 
pices  at  the  sides." 

"  Let  us  go  first  and  see  the  waterfalls,"  said 
Eollo. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "we  will.  We 
shall  have  to  turn  to  the  right  in  that  case  and 
go  to  Lauterbrunnen.  When  we  get  to  Lauter 
brunnen  we  shall  have  to  leave  our  carriage  and 
take  horses  to  go  up  to  the  Wengern  Alp.  The 
way  is  by  a  steep  path,  formed  in  zigzags,  right 
up  the  sides  of  the  mountains." 

"  How  far  is  it  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  I  don't  know  precisely,"  said  Mr.  George ; 
"  but  it  is  a  goocl  many  miles.  It  takes,  at  any 
rate,  several  hours  to  go  up.  We  can  stop  at 
the  Wengern  Alp  as  long  as  we  please  and  look 
at  the  Jungfrau  and  the  avalanches,  and  after 
that  go  on  down  into  the  valley  of  Grindenwald 
on  the  other  side,  and  so  come  home." 


110        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  scenes  which  Hollo  observed  from  the  hotel  window. 

"  But  how  can  we  get  our  carriage  ? "  asked 
Rollo. 

"  0,  they  send  the  carriage  back,  I  believe/' 
said  Mr.  George,  "from  Lauterbrunnen  to  the 
great  precipice  at  the  fork  of  the  valley." 

Mr.  George,  having  thus  finished  his  account 
of  the  topography  of  the  route  to  the  Wengern 
Alp,  went  away  from  the  window  and  returned 
to  the  table  where  he  had  been  employed  in 
writing  some  letters  just  before  Rollo  had  come 
in.  Rollo  was  left  at  the  window.  He  leaned 
his  arms  upon  the  sill,  and,  looking  down  to  the 
area  below,  amused  himself  with  observing  what 
was  going  on  there. 

There  were  several  persons  standing  or  sit 
ting  upon  the  piazza.  Presently  he  heard  the 
sound  of  wheels.  A  carriage  came  driving  up 
towards  the  door.  A  postilion  was  riding  upon 
one  of  the  horses.  There  were  two  servants 
sitting  on  the  box  ;  and  there  was  a  seat  behind, 
where  another  servant  and  the  lady's  maid  were 
sitting.  The  carriage  stopped,  the  door  was 
opened,  and  a  lady  and  gentleman  with  two 
boys,  all  dressed  like  travellers,  got  out,  and 
were  ushered  into  the  house  with  great  civility 
by  the  landlord.  The  baggage  was  taken  off 
and  carried  in,  and  then  the  carriage  was  driven 
away  round  the  corner. 


INT.ERLACHEN.  Ill 

An  arrival.  The  .lock  of  goats. 

This  was  an  English  nobleman  and  his  family, 
who  were  making  the  tour  of  Switzerland,  and 
were  going  to  spend  a  few  days  at  Interlachen 
on  the  way. 

As  soon  as  the  bustle  produced  by  this  arrival 
had  subsided,  Hollo's  attention  was  attracted  by 
a  very  sweet  musical  sound  which  seemed  to  be 
produced  by  something  coming  along  the  road. 

"  What  can  that  be,  I  wonder  ? "  said  he  to 
himself. 

Then  in  a  little  louder  tone,  but  without  turn 
ing  round, — 

"Uncle  George,  here  is  some  music  coming. 
What  do  you  think  it  is?" 

Mr.  George  paused  a  moment  to  listen,  and 
then  went  on  with  his  writing. 

The  mystery  was  soon  solved  ;  for,  in  a  few 
moments  after  Hollo  had  spoken,  he  saw  a  large 
flock  of  goats  coming  along.  These  goats  all 
had  bells  upon  their  necks,  —  or  at  least  a  great 
many  of  them  were  so  provided,  —  and  these 
bells,  having  a  soft  and  sweet  tone,  produced, 
when  their  sounds  were  blended  together,  an  en 
chanting  harmony.  The  goats  walked  demurely 
along,  driven  by  one  or  two  goatherds  who  were 
following  them,  and  soon  disappeared  behind  the 
trees  and  shrubbery.  Yery  soon  after  their 
forms  had  disappeared  from  view  the  music  of 
8 


112        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

German  students  upon  a  pedestrian  excursion. 

their  bells  began  to  grow  fainter  and  fainter 
until  it  ceased  to  be  heard. 

"  It  was  a  flock  of  goats  going  by,"  said  Rollo. 

Rollo  next  heard  voices  ;  and,  turning  in  the 
direction  whence  the  sounds  proceeded,  he  saw 
a  party  of  young  men  coining  up  towards  the 
door  of  the  hotel  along  the  gravelled  avenue. 
This  was  a  party  of  German  students  making 
the  tour  of  Switzerland  on  foot.  They  had 
knapsacks  on  their  backs,  and  stout  walking 
sticks  and  guide  books  in  their  hands.  They 
came  up  talking  and  laughing  together,  full  of 
hilarity  and  glee  ;  and  yet  some  of  them  seemed 
very  tired.  They  had  walked  six  miles  that 
morning,  and  were  now  going  to  stop  at  this 
hotel  for  breakfast.  Rollo  listened  to  their  con 
versation  ;  but,  as  it  was  in  the  German  language, 
he  could  not  understand  one  word  that  they 
were  saying. 

"  Dear  me  I  "  said  he  ;  "  I  wish  that  every  body 
would  talk  either  French  or  English." 

As  soon  as  the  students  had  passed  on  into  the 
inn  Rollo  heard  another  carriage  coming.  He 
looked  and  found  that  it  was  a  char  a  bane.  A 
char  a  bane  is  a  small,  one-horse  carriage,  which 
looks  upon  the  outside  very  much  like  what  is 
called  a  carryall  in  America,  only  it  is  much 
narrower.  It  differs  very  much,  however,  from 


INTERLACHEN.  113 

Description  of  the  char  £  bane. 

a  carryall  within  ;  for  it  has  only  a  seat  for  two 
persons,  and  that  is  placed  sideways,  with  the 
end  to  the  horses.  You  ride  in  it,  therefore, 
sideways,  as  you  do  in  an  omnibus,  only  in  an 
omnibus  there  are  two  seats,  one  on  each  side, 
and  the  door  is  at  the  end  ;  whereas  in  the  char 
a  bane  there  is  a  seat  only  on  one  side,  and  the 
door  is  opposite  to  it  on  the  other.  The  seat  is 
large  and  comfortable,  being  very  much  like  a 
short  sofa.  Some  people,  therefore,  describe  a 
char  a  bane  as  a  sofa  placed  endwise  on  wheels. 

The  char  a  bane  stopped  before  the  door  of 
the  hotel ;  and  the  coachman,  getting  down  from 
his  seat  in  front,  opened  the  door.  A  very  dig 
nified-looking  gentleman  stepped  out ;  and,  after 
standing  a  moment  on  the  piazza  to  give  some 
directions  about  his  portmanteau,  he  went  into 
the  office  of  the  hotel. 

Rollo,  looking  down  from  the  window  of  his 
uncle  George's  room,  could  see  all  these  things 
very  plainly  ;  for  the  roof  which  protected  the  pi 
azza  from  the  rain  was  up  at  the  top  of  the  hotel, 
And  therefore  did  not  interfere  with  his  view. 

After  having  made  the  above-described  ob 
servations  from  the  window,  Rollo  began  to 
think  that  he  would  like  to  go  down  below  to 
the  door,  where  he  thought  he  could  see  what 
was  going  on  to  better  advantage. 


114        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Ordering  breakfast.  Travellers  and  guides 

"  Uncle  George,"  said  he,  "  when  are  you  go 
ing  down  to  breakfast?" 

"  In  about  half  an  hour,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"  I  have  got  another  letter  to  write." 

"  Then  I  believe  I  will  go  down  now,"  said 
Rollo,  "  and  wait  there  till  you  come." 

"  Yery  well,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  and  please 
order  breakfast,  and  then  it  will  be  all  ready 
when  I  get  my  letter  finished." 

"What  shall  I  order?"  asked  Rollo. 

•'  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  don't 
know  what  it  is  the  fashion  to  have  for  break 
fast  here.  Ask  them  what  they  have  got,  and 
then  choose  for  yourself  and  me." 

So  Rollo,  putting  on  his  cap,  went  down  stairs. 

He  stood  for  a  little  time  on  the  piazza,  look 
ing  at  the  strange  dresses  of  the  people  that 
were  sitting  or  standing  there  and  listening  to 
the  outlandish  sounds  of  the  foreign  languages 
which  they  were  speaking.  At  a  little  distance 
out  upon  the  gravel  walk,  near  the  shrubbery, 
were  a  party  of  guides  waiting  to  be  hired  for 
mountain  excursions.  Some  of  these  guides 
were  talking  with  travellers,  forming  plans,  or 
agreeing  upon  the  terms  on  which  they  were  to 
serve.  Rollo,  after  observing  these  groups  a 
little  time,  walked  along  the  piazza  towards  a 
place  where  he  saw  an  open  door  in  another 


INTERLACHEN.  115 

Rollo  explores  the  hotel.  The  drawing  room. 

large  building,  which,  being  connected  with  the 
piazza,  evidently  belonged  to  the  hotel.  In  fact, 
it  was  a  sort  of  wing.  As  there  were  people 
going  in  and  out  at  this  door,  Rollo  thought 
that  he  could  go  in  too. 

He  accordingly  walked  along  in  that  direc 
tion.  Before  he  reached  the  door  he  came  to  a 
place  which,  though  open  to  the  air,  was  covered 
with  a  roof,  and  was  so  enclosed  by  the  build 
ings  on  three  sides  as  to  make  quite  a  pleasant 
little  nook.  It  was  ornamented  by  various 
shrubs  and  flowers  which  grew  from  tubs  and 
large  pots  arranged  against  the  sides  of  Jt. 
There  were  several  tables  in  this  space,  with 
chairs  around  them,  and  one  or  two  parties  of 
young  men  were  taking  their  breakfast  here. 

"  This  will  be  a  good  place  for  uncle  George 
and  me  to  have  our  breakfast,'7  said  Rollo  to 
himself,  "  and  we  can  see  the  Jungfrau  all  the 
time  while  we  are  eating  it." 

Rollo  then  went  on  into  the  open  door.  He 
found  himself  ushered  into  a  very  large  and 
beautiful  drawing  room.  There  were  a  great 
many  sofas  arranged  around  the  sides  of  it,  on 
which  parties  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  were 
sitting  talking  together  ;  while  other  gentlemen, 
their  hats  in  their  hands,  were  standing  before 
them  or  walking  about  the  floor.  There  was 


116        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


The  breakfast  room. 


no  carpet ;  but  the  floor  was  formed  of  dark 
wood  highly  polished,  and  was  very  beautiful. 
There  was  a  fireplace  in  one  corner  of  this 
room  ;  but  there  was  no  fire  in  it.  No  fire 
was  necessary ;  for  it  was  a  warm  and  pleasant 
morning. 

On  the  front  side  of  the  room  was  a  row  of 
windows  looking  out  towards  the  road.  On  the 
back  side  was  a  door  opening  to  another  large 
room,  where  Rollo  saw  a  table  spread  and  sev 
eral  people  sitting  at  it  eating  their  breakfast. 

"  Ah,"  said  Rollo,  "  there  is  the  dining  room  I 
I  will  go  in  there  and  see  what  we  can  have  for 
breakfast." 

So  he  walked  through  the  drawing  room  and 
entered  the  room  beyond.  He  found  that  this 
inner  room  was  quite  a  spacious  apartment ;  and 
there  were  one  or  two  long  tables  extending  the 
whole  length  of  it. 

There  were  various  separate  parties  sitting  at 
these  tables  taking  breakfast.  Some  were  just 
beginning.  Some  had  just  ended.  Some  were 
waiting  for  their  breakfast  to  be  brought  in. 
Near  where  Rollo  was  standing  two  gentlemen 
were  seated  at  the  table,  with  a  map  of  Switzer 
land  spread  before  them  ;  and,  instead  of  being 
occupied  with  breakfast,  they  were  planning 
BOine  excursion  for  the  day. 


INTERLACHEN.  117 

Hollo's  breakfast.  Honey. 

Rollo  looked  out  a  vacant  place  at  the  table 
and  took  his  seat.  A  waiter  came  to  him  to 
know  what  he  would  have. 

"  I  want  breakfast  for  two,"  said  Rollo,  "  my 
uncle  and  myself.  What  have  you  got  for  us  ?  " 

The  waiter  repeated  a  long  list  of  very  nice 
things  that  he  could  give  Rollo  and  his  uncle  for 
breakfast.  From  among  these  Rollo  chose  a 
beef  steak,  some  hot  rolls  and  butter,  some  honey, 
and  some  coffee.  The  waiter  went  out  to  pre 
pare  them. 

In  about  ten  minutes  Mr.  George  came  down. 
He  took  his  seat  by  the  side  of  Rollo  ;  and  very 
soon  afterwards  the  waiter  brought  in  what  had 
been  ordered.  Rollo  liked  the  breakfast  very 
much,  especially  the  honey. 

It  is  very  customary  to  have  honey  for  break 
fast  in  Switzerland. 


118        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Starting  for  Lauterbrunnen.  The  landlord's  directions. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
LAUTERBRUNNEN. 

"  COME,  uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  "  make 
haste.  We  are  all  ready." 

Rollo  was  sitting  in  a  char  a  bane  when  he 
said  this,  at  the  door  of  the  hotel.  He  and  his 
uncle  were  going  to  make  an  excursion  up  the 
valley  of  the  Liitschine  to  Lauterbrunnen,  and 
thence  to  ascend  the  Wengern  Alp,  in  order  to 
see  the  avalanches  of  the  Jungfrau  ;  and  Rollo 
was  in  haste  to  set  out. 

"  Come,  uncle  George,"  said  he,  "  make  haste." 

Mr.  George  was  coming  out  of  the  hotel  slow 
ly,  talking  with  the  landlord. 

"  The  guide  will  take  you  to  Lauterbrunnen," 
said  the  landlord,  "  in  the  char  a  bane  ;  and  then 
he  will  send  the  char  a  bane  back  down  the  val 
ley  to  the  fork,  and  thence  up  to  Grindelwald 
to  wait  for  you  there.  You  will  go  up  to  the 
Wengern  Alp  from  Lauterbrunnen  ;  and  then, 
after  staying  there  as  long  as  you  please,  you' 
will  keep  on  and  come  down  to  Grindelwald  on 


LAUTERBRUNNEN.  119 

The  excursions  of  Rollo  and  his  uncle. 

the  other  side,  where  you  will  find  the  carriage 
ready  for  you.*  But  it  seems  to  me  that  you 
had  better  take  another  horse." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  One  will  do  very 
well." 

Mr.  George  had  a  carpet  bag  in  his  hand.  It 
contained  nightdresses,  to  be  used  in  case  he 
and  Rollo  should  conclude  to  spend  the  night 
on  the  mountain.  He  put  the  carpet  bag  into 
the  carriage,  and  then  got  in  himself.  The  land 
lord  shut  the  door,  and  the  coachman  drove 
away.  Thus  they  set  out  on  their  excursion. 

This  excursion  to  the  Wengern  Alp  was  only 
one  of  many  similar  expeditions  which  Rollo 
and  Mr.  George  made  together  while  they  were 
in  Switzerland.  As,  however,  it  is  manifestly 
impossible  to  describe  the  whole  of  Switzerland 
in  so  small  a  volume  as  this,  I  shall  give  a  nar 
rative  of  the  ascent  of  the  Wengern  Alp  as  a 
sort  of  specimen  of  these  excursions.  I  think  it 
better  that  I  should  give  a  minute  and  particu 
lar  account  of  one  than  a  more  vague  and  gen 
eral,  and  so  less  satisfactory,  account  of  several 
of  them. 

Rollo  had  taken  the  precaution  to  have  the 
curtains  of  the  char  a  bane  rolled  up,  so  that  he 

*  See  the  map  at  the  commencement  of  the  first  chapter. 


120        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  gardens  of  the  hotels. 

and  Mr.  George  could  see  out  freely  on  all  sides 
of  them  as  they  rode  along. 

The  view  which  was  first  presented  to  their 
observation  was  that  of  the  lawns  and  gardens 
in  the  midst  of  which  the  hotels  were  situated. 
These  grounds  were  connected  together  by 
walks  —  some  straight,  others  winding  —  which 
passed  through  bowers  and  gateways  from  one 
enclosure  to  the  other.  In  these  walks  various 
parties  were  strolling ;  some  were  gathering 
flowers,  others  were  gazing  at  the  mountains 
around,  and  others  still  were  moving  quietly 
along,  going  from  one  hotel  to  another  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  a  pleasant  morning  walk  or 
to  make  visits  to  their  friends.  The  whole  scene 
was  a  bright  and  very  animated  one  ;  but  Rollo 
had  not  time  to  observe  it  long  ;  for  the  char  a 
bane,  after  moving  by  a  graceful  sweep  around 
a  copse  of  shrubbery,  passed  out  through  a  great 
gateway  into  the  road,  and  the  hotels  and  all 
that  pertained  to  them  were  soon  hidden  from 
view  by  the  great  trees  which  grew  along  the 
roadside  before  them. 

The  coachman,  or  rather  the  guide,  —  for  the 
man  who  was  driving  the  char  a  bane  was  the 
one  who  was  to  act  as  guide  up  the  mountain 
when  they  reached  Lauterbrunnen,  —  turned  soon 
into  a  road  which  led  off  towards  the  gap,  or 


lUUTERBRUNNEN.  121 

The  qualities  of  the  chir  £,  bane.  A  Swiss  girl  digging. 

opening,  in  the  nearer  mountains  which  Mr. 
George  and  Rollo  had  seen  from  the  windows 
of  the  hotel.  The  road  was  very  smooth  and 
level,  and  the  two  travellers,  as  they  rode  along, 
had  a  fine  view  of  the  fields,  the  hamlets,  and  the 
scattered  cottages  which  bordered  the  road  on 
the  side  to  which  their  faces  were  turned. 

"  This  char  a  bane,"  said  Rollo,  "  is  an  excel 
lent  carriage  for  seeing  the  prospect  on  one  side 
of  the  road." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "but  there  might  be 
the  most  astonishing  spectacle  in  Switzerland  on 
the  other  side  without  our  knowing  any  thing 
about  it  unless  we  turned  round  expressly  to  see." 

So  saying,  Mr.  George  turned  in  his  seat  and 
looked  at  that  side  of  the  road  which  had  been 
behind  them.  There  was  a  field  there,  and  a 
young  girl  about  seventeen  years  old  —  with  a 
very  broad-brimmed  straw  hat  upon  her  head, 
and  wearing  a  very  picturesque  costume  in  other 
respects  —  was  seen  digging  up  the  ground  with 
a  hoe. 

The  blade  of  the  hoe  was  long,  and  it  seemed 
very  heavy.  The  girl  was  digging  up  the  ground 
by  standing  upon  the  part  which  she  had  already 
dug  and  striking  the  hoe  down  into  the  hard 
ground  a  few  inches  back  from  where  she  had 
struck  before. 


122        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

In  Switzerland  the  women  work  in  the  fields. 

"  Do  the  women  work  in  the  fields  every  where 
in  Switzerland,  Henry?"  said  Mr.  George. 

The  guide's  name  was  Henry.  He  could  not 
speak  English,  but  he  spoke  French  and  German. 
Mr.  George  addressed  him  in  French. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Henry  ;  "  in  every  part  of 
Switzerland  where  I  have  been." 

"  In  America  the  women  never  work  in  the 
fields,"  said  Mr.  George. 

"  Never  ?  "  asked  Henry,  surprised. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George ;  "  at  least,  I  never 
saw  any." 

"  What  do  they  do,  then,"  asked  Henry,  "  to 
spend  their  time  ?  " 

Mr.  George  laughed.  He  told  Hollo,  in  Eng 
lish,  that  he  did  not  think  he  had  any  satisfac 
tory  answer  at  hand  in  respect  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  American  ladies  spent  their  time. 

"  I  pity  that  poor  girl,"  said  Rollo,  "  hoeing 
all  day  on  such  hard  ground.  I  think  the  men 
ought  to  do  such  work  as  that." 

"The  men  have  harder  work  to  do,"  said 
Mr.  George  ;  "  climbing  the  mountains  to  hunt 
chamois,  or  driving  the  sheep  and  cows  up  to 
the  upper  pasturages  in  places  where  it  would 
be  very  difficult  for  women  to  go." 

"  We  must  turn  round  every  now  and  then," 
said  Rollo,  "  and  see  what  is  behind  us,  or  we 


LAUTERBRUNNEN.  123 

Anecdote  of  the  ladies  who  went  to  ride  in  a  cimr  4  bane. 

may  lose  the  sight  of  something  very  extraor 
dinary." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  I  heard  of  a  party 
of  English  ladies  who  once  went  out  in  a  char  a 
bane  to  see  a  lake.  It  happened  that  when  they 
came  to  the  lake  the  road  led  along  the  shore 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  party,  as  they  sat  in 
the  carriage,  had  their  backs  to  the  water.  So 
they  rode  along,  looking  at  the  scenery  on  the 
land  side  and  wondering  why  they  did  not  come 
to  the  lake.  In  this  manner  they  continued  until 
they  had  gone  entirely  around  the  lake  ;  and  then 
the  coachman  drove  them  home.  When  they  ar 
rived  at  the  hotel  they  were  astonished  to  find 
that  they  had  got  home  again  ;  and  they  called 
out  to  the  coachman  to  ask  where  the  lake  was 
that  they  had  driven  out  to  see.  He  told  them 
that  he  had  driven  them  all  round  it ! " 

Rollo  laughed  heartily  at  this  story,  and  Henry 
would  probably  have  laughed  too  if  he  had  un 
derstood  it ;  but,  as  Mr.  George  related  it  in 
English,  Henry  did  not  comprehend  one  word 
of  the  narration  from  beginning  to  end. 

In  the  mean  time  the  horse  trotted  rapidly 
onward  along  the  valley,  which  seemed  to  grow 
narrower  and  narrower  as  they  proceeded  ;  and 
the  impending  precipices  which  here  and  there 
overhung  the  road  became  more  and  more  ter- 


124        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Excursion  parties  on  the  way.  The  fork  of  the  valley. 

rific.  The  Liitschine,  a  rapid  and  turbid  stream, 
swept  swiftly  along  —  sometimes  in  full  view  and 
sometimes  concealed.  Now  and  then  there  was 
a  bridge,  or  a  mill,  or  some  little  hamlet  of  Swiss 
cottages  to  diversify  the  scene.  Mr.  George  and 
Rollo  observed  every  thing  with  great  attention 
and  interest.  They  met  frequent  parties  of  trav 
ellers  returning  from  Grin  del  wald  to  Lauter- 
brunnen  —  some  on  foot,  some  on  horseback,  and 
others  in  carriages  which  were  more  or  less  spa 
cious  and  elegant,  according  to  the  rank  or 
wealth  of  the  travellers  who  were  journeying  in 
them. 

At  length  they  arrived  at  the  fork  of  the  valley. 
Here  they  gazed  with  astonishment  and  awe  at 
the  stupendous  precipice  which  reared  its  colos 
sal  front  before  them  and  which  seemed  effectu 
ally  to  stop  their  way. 

On  drawing  near  to  it,  however,  it  appeared 
that  the  valley  divided  into  two  branches  at  this 
point,  as  has  already  been  explained.  The  road 
divided  too.  The  branch  which  led  to  the  right 
•  was  the  road  to  Lauterbrunnen.  The  one  to  the 
left  Hollo  supposed  led  to  Grindelwald.  To 
make  it  sure,  he  pointed  to  the  left-hand  road 
and  said  to  Henry,  — 

"  To  Grindelwald  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir/''  said  Henry,  "  to  Gr'ndelwald." 


LAUTERBRUNNEN.  125 

Wild  scenery.  Peasants'  patha.  Waterfalls. 

The  scenery  now  became  more  wild  than  ever. 
The  valley  was  narrow,  and  on  each  side  of  it 
were  to  be  seen  lofty  precipices  and  vast  slopes 
of  mountain  land —  some  smooth  and  green,  and 
covered,  though  very  steep,  with  flocks  and  herds, 
and  others  feathered  with  dark  evergreen  for 
ests,  or  covered  with  ragged  rocks,  or  pierced 
with  frightful  chasms.  Here  and  there  a  zigzag 
path  was  seen  leading  from  hamlet  to  hamlet  or 
from  peak  to  peak  up  the  mountain,  with  peas 
ants  ascending  or  descending  by  them  and  bear 
ing  burdens  of  every  form  and  variety  on  their 
backs.  In  one  case  Rollo  saw  a  woman  bring 
ing  a  load  of  hay  on  her  back  down  the  moun 
tain  side. 

The  valley,  bordered  thus  as  it  was  with  such 
wild  and  precipitous  mountain  sides,  might  have 
had  a  gloomy,  or  at  least  a  very  sombre,  expres 
sion,  had  it  not  been  cheered  and  animated  by 
the  waterfalls  that  came  foaming  down  here  and 
there  from  the  precipices  above,  and  which 
seemed  so  bright  and  sparkling  that  they  great 
ly  enlivened  the  scene.  These  waterfalls  were 
of  a  great  variety  of  forms.  In  gome  cases  a 
thin  thread  of  water,  like  the  jet  from  a  fire 
engine,  came  slowly  over  the  brink  of  a  preci 
pice  a  thousand  feet  in  the  air,  and,  gliding 
smoothly  down  for  a  few  hundred  feet,  was  then 


126        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  mountain  streams  which  Rollo  and  his  uncle  saw. 

lost  entirely  in  vapor  or  spray.  In  other  cases, 
in  the  depth  of  some  deep  ravine  far  up  the 
mountain,  might  be  seen  a  line  of  foam  meander 
ing  for  a  short  distance  among  the  rocks  and 
then  disappearing.  Rollo  pointed  to  one  of 
these,  and  then  said  to  Mr.  George,  — 

"  Uncle,  look  there  !  There  is  a  short  water 
fall  half  way  up  the  mountain  ;  but  I  cannot  see 
where  the  water  comes  from  or  where  it  goes  to." 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  It  comes  undoubt 
edly  from  over  the  precipice  above,  and  it  flows 
entirely  down  into  the  valley  ;  but  it  only  comes 
out  to  view  for  that  short  distance." 

"  Why  can't  we  see  it  all  the  way  ? "  asked 
Rollo. 

"I  suppose,"  said  Mr.  George,  "it  may  flow 
for  the  rest  of  the  way  in  the  bottom  of  some 
deep  chasms,  or  it  may  possibly  be  that  it  comes 
suddenly  out  of  the  ground  at  the  place  where 
we  see  it." 

"Yes,"  said  Rollo.  "I  found  a  great  stream 
coming  suddenly  out  of  the  ground  at  Inter- 
lachen." 

"  Where,"  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  Right  across  the  river,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  went 
over  there  this  morning." 

"  How  did  you  get  over  ?  "  said  Mr.  George. 

"I  went  over  on  a  bridge,"  said  Rollo.     "I 


LADTERBRUNNE.V.  127 

Rollo's  account  of  the  river  that  came  out  of  the  ground. 

took  a  little  walk  up  the  road,  and  pretty 
soon  I  came  to  a  bridge  which  led  across  the 
river.  I  went  over,  and  then  walked  along  the 
bank  on  the  other  side.  There  was  only  a  nar 
row  space  between  the  river  and  the  precipice. 
The  ground  sloped  down  from  the  foot  of  the 
precipice  to  the  water.  I  found  several  very 
large  springs  breaking  out  in  this  ground.  One 
of  them  was  very  large.  The  water  that  ran 
from  it  made  a  great  stream,  large  enough  for  a 
mill.  It  came  up  right  out  of  the  ground  from 
a  great  hole  all  full  of  stones.  The  water  came 
up  from  among  the  stones.7' 

"  And  where  did  it  go  to  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  0,  it  ran  directly  down  into  the  river.  The 
place  was  rather  steep  where  it  ran  down,  so 
that  it  made  a  cascade  all  the  way." 

"  I  should  like  to  have  seen  it,"  said  Mr. 
George. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  it  was  very  curious  in 
deed  to  see  a  little  river  come  up  suddenly 
out  of  the  ground  from  a  great  hole  full  of 
stones." 

Talking  in  this  manner  about  what  they  had 
seen,  our  travellers  went  on  till  they  came  to 
Lauterbrunnen.  They  found  a  small  village 
here,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  a  large  and  com 
fortable  inn.  There  were  a  number  of  guides 
9 


128        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  waterfalls  o  Lauterbrunnen.  Hollo's  wonder. 

and  several  carriages  in  the  yards  of  this  inn, 
and  many  parties  of  travellers  coming  and  going. 
The  principal  attraction  of  the  valley,  however, 
at  this  part  of  it,  is  an  immense  waterfall,  called 
the  Fall  of  the  Staubach,  which  was  to  be  seen 
a  little  beyond  the  village,  up  the  valley.  This 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  waterfalls  in  all 
Switzerland.  A  large  stream  comes  over  the 
brink  of  a  precipice  nearly  a  thousand  feet  high, 
and  descends  in  one  smooth  and  continuous 
column  for  some  hundreds  of  feet,  when  it  gradu 
ally  breaks,  and  finally  comes  down  upon  the 
rocks  below  a  vast  mass  of  foam  and  spray. 

Rollo  and  Mr.  George  could  see  this  waterfall 
and  a  great  many  other  smaller  ones  which  came 
streaming  down  over  the  faces  of  the  precipices, 
along  the  sides  of  the  valley,  as  they  came  up  in 
the  char  a  bane,  before  they  reached  the  inn. 

"  I  don't  see  how  such  a  large  river  gets  to 
the  top  of  such  a  high  hill,"  said  Rollo. 

That  this  question  should  have  arisen  in  Rol- 
lo's  mind  is  not  surprising  ;  for  the  top  of  the 
precipice  where  the  Staubach  came  over  seemed, 
in  fact,  the  summit  of  a  sharp  ridge  to  any  one 
looking  up  to  it  from  the  valley  below ;  and 
Rollo  did  not  imagine  that  there  was  any  land 
above.  The  apparent  wonder  was,  however, 
afterwards  explained,  when  our  travellers  began 


JjAUTERBRUNNEN.  129 

Boys  and  girls  selling  flowers  and  minerals.  "  Want  a  guide  ?  '* 

to  ascend  the  mountain  on  the  other  side  of  the 
valley  that  afternoon  to  go  up  to  the  Wengern 
Alp. 

The  guide  drove  the  char  a  bane  to  the  door 
of  the  inn,  and  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  got  out. 
They  went  into  the  inn  and  ordered  dinner. 

"  We  are  going  to  see  the  Staubach,"  said 
Mr.  George  to  the  waiter,  "  and  we  will  be  back 
in  half  an  hour." 

"  Very  well/7  said  the  waiter ;  "  your  dinner 
shall  be  ready." 

So  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  came  out  of  the  inn 
again  in  order  to  go  and  see  the  waterfall. 

They  were  beset  at  the  door  by  a  number  of 
young  men  and  boys,  and  also  by  several  little 
girls,  some  of  whom  wanted  to  sell  them  minerals 
or  flowers  which  they  had  gathered  among  the 
rocks  around  the  waterfall  ;  and  others  wished 
to  guide  them  to  the  place. 

"To  the  Staubach?  To  the  Staubach?"  said 
they.  "  Want  a  guide  ?  Want  a  guide  ?" 

They  said  this  in  the  German  language.  Mr. 
George  understood  enough  of  German  to  know 
what  they  meant  ;  but  he  could  not  reply  in 
that  language.  So  he  said,  in  French, — 

"  No  ;  we  do  not  wish  any  guide.  We  can 
find  the  way  to  the  Staubach  ourselves.  There 
it  is,  right  before  our  eyes." 


130         ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Mr.  George  makes  a  present  to  the  children. 

Mr.  George,  while  he  was  saying  this,  was 
taking  out  some  small  change  from  his  pockets 
to  give  to  the  children.  He  gave  a  small  coin 
apiece  to  them  all. 

Seeing  this,  the  boys  who  had  wished  to  guide 
him  to  the  Staubach  became  more  clamorous 
than  ever. 

"  To  the  Staubach  ?  "  said  they.  "  To  the  Stau 
bach  ?  Want  a  guide  ?  Want  a  guide?  " 

Mr.  George  paid  no  further  attention  to  them  ; 
but,  saying  "  Come,  Rollo,"  walked  on. 

The  would-be  guides  followed  him  a  short  dis 
tance,  still  offering  their  services  ;  but,  finding 
soon  that  Mr.  George  would  not  have  any  thing 
more  to  say  to  them,  they  gradually  dropped 
off  and  went  back  to  the  inn  to  try  their  fortune 
with  the  next  arrival. 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  walked  on  along  a 
narrow  road,  which  was  bordered  by  queer,  pic 
turesque-looking  huts  and  cottages  on  either 
hand,  with  gardens  by  the  sides  of  them,  in  which 
women  and  girls  were  hoeing  or  weeding.  They 
met  two  or  three  parties  of  ladies  and  gentle 
men  returning  from  the  Staubach  ;  and  presently 
they  came  to  a  place  where,  close  to  the  side  of 
the  road,  was  a  small  shop,  before  which  a  party 
of  ladies  and  gentlemen  had  stopped,  appaiently 
to  look  at  something  curious. 


LAUTERBRUNNEN.  131 

The  image  shop.  Mementoes  of  the  Staubach. 

Mr.  George  and  Bollo  went  to  the  place  and 
found  that  it  was  a  shop  for  the  sale  of  carved 
toys  and  images  such  as  are  made  in  many  parts 
of  Switzerland  to  be  sold  to  travellers  for  souve 
nirs  of  their  tour  through  the  country.  There 
were  shelves  put  up  on  the  outside  of  the  shop, 
each  side  of  the  door,  and  these  shelves  were 
covered  with  all  sorts  of  curious  objects  carved 
in  white  or  yellow  fir.  or  pine.  There  were  im 
ages  of  Swiss  peasants  with  all  sorts  of  burdens 
on  their  backs,  and  models  of  Swiss  cottages, 
and  needle  boxes,  and  pin  cases,  and  match  boxes, 
and  nut  crackers,  and  groups  of  hunters  on  the 
rocks,  or  of  goats  or  chamois  climbing,  and 
rulers  ornamented  with  cameo-like  carvings  of 
wreaths  and  flowers,  and  with  the  word  "  Stau 
bach  "  cut  in  ornamental  letters. 

Rollo  was  greatly  interested  in  this  store  of 
curiosities,  so  much  so,  in  fact,  that  for  the  mo 
ment  all  thoughts  of  the  Staubach  were  driven 
from  his  mind. 

"Let  us  buy  some  of  these  things,  uncle 
George,"  said  he. 

"  And  carry  them  over  the  Wengern  Alp  ?  " 
said  Mr.  George. 

"Yes,"  said  Rollo.  "They  won't  be  very 
heavy.  We  can  put  them  in  the  carpet  bag." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  you  may  buy  one 


132        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Mr.  George's  consideration  for  the  guide.  A  recognition. 

or  two  specimens  if  you  wish,  but  not  many  ;  for 
the  guide  has  got  the  carpet  bag  to  carry,  and 
we  must  riot  make  it  very  heavy." 

"  Or  we  can  send  them  in  the  carriage  round 
to  Grindelwald,"  said  Rollo,  u  and  not  have  to 
carry  them  at  all." 

"  So  we  can,"  said  Mr.  George. 

Rollo  accordingly  bought  two  Swiss  cottages, 
very  small  ones,  and  a  nut  cracker.  The  nut 
cracker  was  shaped  like  a  man's  fist,  with  a  hole 
in  the  middle  of  it  to  put  the  nut  in.  Then  there 
was  a  handle,  the  end  of  which,  when  the  handle 
was  turned,  was  forced  into  the  hollow  of  the 
fist  by  means  of  a  screw  cut  in  the  wood,  and 
this  would  crack  the  nut. 

While  Rollo  was  paying  for  his  toys  he  felt  a 
small  hand  taking  hold  of  his  own,  and  heard  a 
voice  say,  in  English,  — 

"How  do  you  do?" 

The  English  "How  do  you  do  ?"  is  a  strange 
sound  to  be  heard  in  these  remote  Swiss  valleys. 

Rollo  turned  round  and  saw  a  boy  look  up  to 
him  with  a  smile,  saying  again  at  the  sane 
time,  — 

"  How  do  you  do  ?  " 

In  a  moment  Rollo  recognized  the  boy  whom 
he  had  seen  at  Basle  in  the  court  yard  of  the  dili 
gence  office  while  he  had  been  waiting  there  for 


L  AUTERBR  JNNEN.  1315 

More  image  shops.  The  path  to  the  waterfall 

the  horses  to  be  harnessed.  His  sister  Lottie  was 
standing  near  ;  and  she,  as  well  as  her  brother, 
appeared  to  be  mi  ch  pleased  at  seeing  Rollo 
asrain.  Rollo  had  a  few  minutes'  conversation 

O 

with  his  young  friends,  and  then  they  separated, 
as  Rollo  went  on  with  his  uncle  to  see  the  water 
fall  ;  while  they,  having  already  been  with  their 
father  and  mother  to  see  it,  went  back  to  the  inn. 

Mr.  George  had  recommended  to  Rollo  not  to 
buy  too  many  specimens  of  the  carving,  not 
only  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  transporting 
them,  but  also  because  he  thought  that  they 
would  probably  find  a  great  many  other  oppor 
tunities  to  purchase  such  things  before  they  had 
finished  their  rambles  in  Switzerland.  He  was 
quite  right  in  this  supposition.  In  fact,  Rollo 
passed  three  more  stands  for  selling  such  things 
on  the  way  to  the  Staubach. 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  continued  their  walk 
along  the  road,  looking  up  constantly  at  the  co 
lossal  column  of  water  before  them,  which  seemed 
to  grow  larger  arid  higher  the  nearer  they  drew 
to  it.  At  length  they  reached  the  part  of 
the  road  which  was  directly  opposite  to  it. 
Here  there  was  a  path  which  turned  off  from 
the  road  and  led  up  through  the  pasture  towards 
the  foot  of  the  fall.  The  entrance  to  this  path 
was  beset  by  children  who  had  little  boxes  full 


134        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

A  strange  obstacle  to  seeing  the  Staubach. 

of  crystals  and  other  shining  minerals  which 
they  wished  to  sell  to  visitors  for  souvenirs  of 
the  place. 

Mr.  George  and  Hollo  turned  into  this  path 
and  attempted  to  advance  towards  the  foot  of 
the  fall  ;  but  they  soon  found  themselves  stopped 
by  the  spray.  In  fact,  the  whole  region  all 
around  the  foot  of  the  fall,  for  a  great  distance, 
was  so  full  of  mist  and  driving  spray  that  going 
into  it  was  like  going  into  a  rain  storm.  Mr. 
George  and  Rollo  soon  found  that  they  were 
getting  thoroughly  wet  and  that  it  would  not 
do  to  go  any  farther. 

"And  so,;;  said  Rollo,  in  a  disappointed  tone, 
:i  though  we  have  taken  the  pains  to  come  all 
this  way  to  see  the  waterfall,  we  can't  get  near 
enough  to  see  it  after  all.'7 

Mr.  George  laughed. 

"  I  wish  we  had  brought  an  umbrella,"  said 
Eollo. 

"An  umbrella  would  not  have  done  much 
good,"  replied  Mr.  George.  "  The  wind  whirls 
about  so  much  that  it  would  drive  the  spray 
upon  us  whichever  way  we  should  turn  the  um 
brella." 

"  The  path  goes  on  a  great  deal  nearer,"  said 
Eollo.  "  Somebody  must  go  there,  at  any  rate, 
without  minding  the  spray." 


L AUTERBRUNNEN.  135 


Dinner  at  the  hotel. 


"  Perhaps,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  when  the  wind 
is  in  some  other  quarter,  it  may  blow  the  spray 
away,  so  that  people  can  go  nearer  the  foot  of 
the  fall  without  getting  wet.  At  any  rate,  it  is 
plain  that  we  cannot  go  any  nearer  now." 

Saying  these  words,  Mr.  George  led  the  way 
back  towards  the  road,  and  Rollo  followed  him. 

After  retreating  far  enough  to  get  again  into 
a  dry  atmosphere,  they  stopped  and  looked  up 
ward  at  the  fall.  It  seemed  an  immense  cata 
ract  coming  down  out  of  the  sky.  After  gazing 
at  the  stupendous  spectacle  till  their  wonder 
and  admiration  were  in  some  measure  satisfied 
they  returned  to  the  inn,  where  they  found  an 
excellent  dinner  all  ready  for  them.  While  they 
were  thus  employed  in  eating  their  dinner,  Hen 
ry  was  engaged  in  eating  his,  with  at  least  as 
good  an  appetite,  in  company  with  the  other 
guides,  in  the  servants'  hall. 


136        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

"  Now  for  a  scramble."  Mountain  paths. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  WENGERN  ALP. 

IT  was  about  twelve  o'clock  when  Hollo  and 
Mr.  George,  having  finished  their  dinner,  came 
out  into  the  yard  of  the  inn  for  the  purpose  of 
setting  out  for  the  ascent  of  the  mountain. 

"  Well,  Rollo."  said  Mr.  George,  "  now  for  a 
a  scramble/' 

Thus  far  the  road  which  the  young  gentlemen 
had  travelled  since  leaving  Iriterlachen  had  been 
quite  level  and  smooth,  its  course  having  been 
along  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  which  was  itself 
quite  level,  though  shut  in  on  both  sides  by  pre 
cipitous  mountains.  Now  they  were  to  leave 
the  valley  and  ascend  one  of  these  mountain 
sides  by  means  of  certain  zigzag  paths  which 
had  been  made  with  great  labor  upon  them,  to 
enable  the  peasants  to  ascend  and  descend  in 
going  to  and  from  their  hamlets  and  pasturages. 

The  paths,  though  very  steep  and  very  tortu 
ous,  are  smooth  enough  for  horses  to  go  up, 
though  the  peasants  themselves  very  seldom  use 


THE  WENGEKN  ALP.  137 

The  reason  why  the  peasants  do  not  use  horses. 

horses.  A  horse  would  eat  as  much  grass,  per 
haps,  as  two  cows.  They  prefer,  therefore,  to 
have  the  cows,  and  do  without  the  horse.  And 
so  every  thing  which  they  wish  to  transport  up 
and  down  the  mountain  they  carry  on  their 
backs. 

There  were  various  other  guides  in  the  yard 
of  the  inn  besides  Henry  :  some  were  preparing 
apparently  for'  the  ascent  of  the  mountain  with 
other  parties  ;  others  were  bringing  up  car 
riages  for  people  who  were  going  to  return  to 
Interlachen.  Henry,  when  he  saw  Mr.  George 
and  Hollo  coming  out,  asked  them  if  they  were 
ready. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  Bring  the  horse. 
You  shall  ride  first,  Hollo." 

Mr.  George  was  to  have  but  one  horse  for 
himself  and  Hollo,  and  they  were  to  ride  it  by 
turns.  He  thought  that  both  he  himself  and 
Hollo  would  be  able  to  walk  half  way  up  the 
mountain,  and,  by  having  one  horse  between 
them,  each  could  ride  half  the  way. 

Besides,  it  is  less  fatiguing,  when  you  have  a 
long  and  steep  ascent  to  make,  to  walk  some 
portion  of  the  way  rather  than  to  be  on  horse 
back  all  the  time. 

There  was  another  consideration  which  influ 
enced  Mr.  George.  Every  additional  horse 


138        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Only  one  hone  for  two  riders.  Rollo  mounted. 

which  should  be  required  for  the  excursion 
would  cost  about  two  dollars  a  day,  including 
the  guide  to  take  care  of  him ;  and,  as  Mr.  George 
expected  to  spend  at  least  two  days  on  the  ex 
cursion,  it  would  cost  four  dollars  more  to  take 
two  horses  than  to  take  only  one. 

"  And  I  think/7  said  Mr.  George  to  Rollo,  after 
having  made  this  calculation,  "  we  had  better 
save  that  money,  and  have  it  to  buy  beautiful 
colored  engravings  of  Swiss  scenery  with  when 
we  get  to  Geneva." 

"I  think  so  too,"  said  Rollo. 

So  it  was  concluded  to  take  but  one  horse 
with  them,  on  the  understanding  that  each  of  the 
travellers  was  to  walk  half  the  way. 

Rollo  accordingly,  when  the  horse  was  brought 
to  the  door,  climbed  up  upon  his  back  with  the 
guide's  assistance,  and,  after  adjusting  his  feet 
to  the  stirrup,  prepared  to  set  out  on  the  ascent. 
His  heart  was  bounding  with  excitement  and 
delight. 

When  all  was  ready  the  party  moved  on,  Rollo 
on  the  horse  and  Mr.  George  and  Henry  walk 
ing  along  by  his  side.  They  proceeded  a  short 
distance  along  the  road,  and  then  turned  into  a 
path  which  led  towards  the  side  of  the  valley 
opposite  to  the  Staubach.  They  soon  reached 
the  foot  of  the  slope,  and  then  they  began  to 


THE  WENGER*   ALP.  139 

The  travellers  gradually  ascend  the  mountain. 

ascend.  The  path  grew  more  and  more  steep 
as  they  proceeded,  until  at  length  it  became 
very  precipitous ;  and  in  some  places  the  horse 
was  obliged  to  scramble  up,  as  it  were,  as  if  he 
were  going  up  stairs.  Rollo  clung  to  his  seat 
manfully  in  all  these  places ;  and  he  would  have 
been  sometimes  afraid  were  it  not  that,  in  every 
case  where  there  could  be  even  any  apparent 
danger,  Henry  would  come  to  his  side  and  keep 
by  him,  ready  to  render  assistance  at  a  moment's 
notice  whenever  any  should  be  needed.  In  this 
way  the  party  moved  slowly  on  up  the  face  of 
the  mountain,  making  many  short  turns  and 
windings  among  the  rocks  and  going  back  and 
forth  in  zigzags  on  the  green  declivities.  Some 
times  for  a  few  minutes  they  would  be  lost  in  a 
grove  of  firs,  or  pines  ;  then  they  would  come 
out  upon  some  rounded  promontory  of  grass 
land  or  projecting  peak  of  rocks ;  and  a  few 
minutes  afterwards  they  would  move  along 
smoothly  for  a  time  upon  a  level,  with  a  steep 
acclivity,  rough  with  rocks  and  precipices  on 
one  side,  and  an  abrupt  descent  on  the  other 
down  which  a  stone  would  have  rolled  a  thou 
sand  feet  into  the  valley  below. 

Of  course  the  view  of  the  valley  became  more 
commanding  and  more  striking  the  higher  they 
ascended.  Rollo  wished  at  every  turn  to  stop 


140        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Stopping  to  breathe.  The  view  of  the  valley. 

and  look  at  it.  He  did  stop  sometimes,  the 
guide  saying  that  it  was  necessary  to  do  so  in 
order  to  let  the  horse  get  his  breath  a  little  ;  for 
the  toil  for  such  an  animal  of  getting  up  so  steep 
an  ascent  was  very  severe.  Rollo  would  have 
stopped  oftener ;  but  he  did  not  like  to  be  left 
behind  by  his  uncle  George,  who,  being  active 
and  agile,  mounted  very  rapidly.  Mr.  George 
would  often  shorten  his  road  very  much  by 
climbing  directly  up  the  rocks  from  one  turn  of 
the  road  to  the  other  ;  while  the  horse,  with 
Rollo  on  his  back,  was  compelled  to  go  round 
by  the  zigzag. 

At  last,  after  they  had  been  ascending  for 
about  half  an  hour,  Mr.  George  stopped,  at  a 
place  where  there  was  a  smooth  stone  for  a  seat 
by  the  side  of  the  path,  to  wait  for  Hollo  to 
come  up ;  and,  when  Rollo  came,  Mr.  George 
took  him  off  the  horse  to  let  him  rest  a  little. 
The  view  of  the  valley  from  this  point  was  very 
grand  and  imposing.  Rollo  could  look  down 
into  it  as  you  could  look  into  the  bed  of  a  brook 
in  the  country,  standing  upon  the  top  of  the  bank 
on  one  side.  The  village,  the  inn,  the  little  cot 
tages  along  the  roadside,  the  river,  the  bridges, 
and  a  thousand  other  objects,  all  of  liliputian 
size,  were  to  be  seen  below  ;  while  on  the  far 
ther  side  the  streaming  Staubach  was  in  full 


THE   WENGERN   ALP.  141 

Rollo  now  sees  where  the  waterfall  of  the  Staubach  comes  from. 

view,  pouring  over  the  brink  of  the  precipice 
and  falling  in  a  dense  mass  of  spray  on  the 
rocks  at  the  foot  of  them. 

Rollo  could  understand  now,  too,  where  the 
fall  of  the  Staubach  came  from  ;  for  above  the 
b*ink  of  the  precipice,  where  the  water  came 
over,  there  was  now  to  be  seen  a  vast  expanse 
of  mountain  country,  rising  steep,  but  not  pre 
cipitously,  far  above  the  summit  of  the  precipice, 
and  of  course  receding  as  it  ascended,  so  as  not 
to  be  seen  from  the  valley  below.  From  the  ele 
vation,  however,  to  which  Rollo  had  now  at 
tained,  the  whole  of  this  vast  region  was  in  view. 
It  was  covered  with  forests,  pasturages,  chalets, 
and  scattered  hamlets  ;  and  in  the  valleys,  long, 
silvery  lines  of  water  were  to  be  seen  glittering 
in  the  sun  and  twisting  and  twining  down  in 
foaming  cascades  to  the  brink  of  the  precipice, 
where,  plunging  over,  they  formed  the  cataracts 
which  had  been  seen  in  the  valley  below.  The 
Staubach  was  the  largest  of  these  falls  ;  and  the 
stream  which  produced  it  could  now  be  traced 
for  many  miles  as  it  came  dancing  along  in  its 
shining  path  down  among  the  ravines  of  the 
mountains. 

"  I  see  now  what  makes  the  fall  of  the  Stau 
bach,"  said  Rollo. 

;<  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George. 


142        ROLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Mr.  George's  considerate  care  of  Hollo 

"  I  should  like  to  be  on  the  brink  of  the  preci 
pice  where  it  falls  over,"  said  Hollo,  "  and  look 
down." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  so  should  I.  I 
don't  think  that  we  could  get  near  enough  actu 
ally  to  look  down,  but  we  could  get  near  enough 
to  see  the  water  where  it  begins  to  take  the 
plunge. 

After  resting  a  suitable  time  at  this  place  and 
greatly  admiring  and  enjoying  the  view,  our  par 
ty  set  out  again.  Hollo  proposed  that  his  uncle 
should  ride  now  a  little  way  and  let  him  walk  ; 
but  Mr.  George  preferred  that  Hollo  should 
mount  again.  There  was  still  nearly  another 
hour's  hard  climbing  to  do  and  a  long  and 
pretty  difficult  walk  of  several  miles  beyond  it, 
and  Mr.  George  was  very  desirous  of  saving 
Hollo's  strength.  It  might  perhaps  be  supposed, 
from  the  blunt  manner  in  which  Mr.  George 
often  threw  the  responsibility  upon  Hollo  when 
he  was  placed  in  difficult  emergencies  and  left 
him  to  act  for  himself,  that  he  did  not  think  or 
care  much  for  his  nephew's  comfort  or  happi 
ness.  But  this  was  by  no  means  the  case.  Mr. 
George  was  very  fond  of  Hollo  indeed.  If  he 
had  not  been  fond  of  him  he  would  not  have 
wished  to  have  him  for  his  companion  on  his 
tour.  He  was  very  careful,  too,  never  to  expose 


THE  WENGERN  ALP.  143 

Going  on  The  peasant  girl  with  the  basket. 

Rollo  to  any  real  hardship  or  suffering  ;  and  his 
apparently  blunt  manner,  in  throwing  responsi 
bilities  upon  the  boy,  only  amused  him  by  mak 
ing  it  appear  that  his  uncle  George  considered 
him  almost  a  man. 

Mr.  George,  knowing  that  the  first  part  oi 
the  way  from  Lauterbrunnen  to  the  Wengern 
Alp  was  by  far  the  most  steep  and  difficult,  had 
accordingly  arranged  it  in  his  own  mind  that 
Rollo  should  ride  until  this  steep  part  had  been 
surmounted. 

"  You  may  mount  again  now,  Rollo,"  said  he. 
"  I  will  walk  a  little  longer  and  take  my  turn 
in  riding  a  little  farther  on." 

So  Rollo  mounted  ;  and  there  was  now  an 
other  hour  of  steep  climbing.  The  zigzags  were 
sometimes  sharp  and  short  and  at  others  long 
and  winding  ;  but  the  way  was  always  pictu 
resque  and  the  views  became  more  and  more 
grand  and  imposing  the  higher  the  party  as 
cended.  At  one  time,  when  Rollo  had  stopped 
a  moment  to  let  his  horse  breathe,  he  saw  at  a 
turn  of  the  path  a  few  zigzags  below  him  a  little 
girl  coming  up,  with  a  basket  on  her  back. 

Rollo  pointed  to  her  and  asked  the  guide,  in 
French,  who  that  girl  was. 

Henry  said  he  did  not  know. 

Henry,  foolishly  enough,  supposed  that  Rollo 
10 


144.        ROLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Hollo's  question.  Travellers'  questions  often  misunderstood. 

meant  to  ask  what  the  girl's  name  was  ;  and  so 
he  said  that  he  did  not  know.  But  this  was  not 
what  Hollo  meant  at  all.  He  had  no  particular 
desire  in  asking  the  question  to  learn  the  child's 
name.  What  he  wished  to  know  was,  what,  ac 
cording  to  the  customs  of  the  country,  would  be 
the  probable  province  and  function  of  such  a  sort 
of  girl  as  that,  coming  alone  up  the  mountain 
in  that  way  with  a  burden  on  her  back.  Henry, 
if  he  had  understood  the  real  intent  and  mean 
ing  of  the  question,  could  easily  have  answered 
it.  The  girl  lived  in  a  little  hamlet  of  shep 
herds'  huts  farther  up  the  mountain,  and  had 
been  down  into  the  village  to  buy  something  for 
her  father  and  mother  ;  and  she  was  now  com 
ing  home  with  her  purchases  in  the  basket  on 
her  back.  All  this  Henry  knew  very  well ;  but, 
when  Hollo  asked  who  the  girl  was,  Henry 
thought  he  meant  to  ask  who  she  herself  was 
individually  ;  and  so,  as  he  did  not  know  her 
personally,  he  could  not  tell. 

Travellers  often  get  disappointed  in  this  way 
in  asking  questions  of  the  natives  of  the  country 
in  which  they  are  travelling.  The  people  do  not 
understand  the  nature  and  bearing  of  the  ques 
tion,  and  they  themselves  are  not  familiar  enough 
with  the  language  to  explain  what  they  do  mean. 

The  guide  stood  for  a  minute  or  two  looking 


THE  WENGERN  ALP.  145 

Steepness  of  the  mountain.  Waiting  for  the  peasant  girl. 

intently  at  the  girl  as  she  slowly  ascended  the 
path,  especially  when  she  passed  the  angles  of 
the  zigzag,  for  there  she  turned  sometimes  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  show  her  face  more  plainly. 

"No/7  said  he,  at  length  ;  "I  do  not  know  her. 
I  never  saw  her  before.  But  I'll  ask  her  who 
she  is  when  she  comes  up." 

"  Uncle  George !  "  said  Rollo,  calling  out  very 
loudly  to  his  uncle,  who  was  at  some  distance 
above. 

"  Ay,  ay,"  said  Mr.  George,  responding. 

Rollo  attempted  to  look  up  to  see  where  his 
uncle  was  standing  ;  but  in  doing  this  he  had 
to  throw  his  head  back  so  far  as  to  bring  a  fear 
suddenly  over  him  of  falling  from  his  horse.  So 
he  desisted,  and  continued  his  conversation  with 
out  attempting  to  look. 

"  Here  is  a  girl  coming  up  the  mountain  with 
a  basket  on  her  back.  Come  down  and  see 
her." 

"  Come  up  here,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  and  we 
will  wait  till  she  comes." 

So  Rollo  chirruped  to  his  horse  and  started 
along  again.  In  a  few  minutes  he  reached  the 
place  where  his  uncle  George  was  standing,  and 
there  they  all  waited  till  the  little  girl  came  up. 

"  Good  morning,"  said  the  girl,  as  soon  as  she 
came  near  enough  to  be  heard.  She  spoke  the 


146        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Accosting  strangers.  Ninette  and  her  basket. 

words  in  the  German  language  and  with  a  very 
pleasant  smile  upon  her  face. 

The  peasants  in  Switzerland,  when  they  meet 
strangers  in  ascending  or  descending  the  moun 
tains,  always  accost  them  pleasantly  and  wish 
them  good  morning  or  good  evening.  In  most 
other  countries,  strangers  meeting  each  other  on 
the  road  pass  in  silence.  Perhaps  it  is  the  lone 
liness  and  solitude  of  the  country  and  the  sense 
of  danger  and  awe  that  the  stupendous  moun 
tains  inspire  that  incline  people  to  be  more 
pleased  when  they  meet  each  other  in  Switzer 
land,  even  if  they  are  strangers,  than  in  the 
more  cheerful  and  smiling  regions  of  France 
and  England. 

The  guide  said  something  to  the  girl,  but 
Rollo  could  not  understand  what  it  was,  for  he 
spoke,  and  the  answer  was  returned,  in  German. 

"  She  says  her  name  is  Ninette,"  said  Henry. 

Hollo's  attention  was  immediately  attracted 
to  the  form  of  the  basket  which  Ninette  wore 
and  to  the  manner  in  which  it  was  fastened  to 
her  back.  The  basket  was  comparatively  small 
at  the  bottom,  being  about  as  wide  as  the  waist 
of  the  girl  ;  but  it  grew  larger  towards  the  top, 
where  it  opened  as  wide  as  the  girl's  shoulders 
• — being  shaped  in  this  respect  in  conformity 
with  the  shape  of  the  back  on  which  it  was  to 
be  borne. 


THE  WENGERN  ALP. 


147 


How  Ninette  carried  her  basket. 


THE  MOUNTAIN  GIRL. 


The  side  of  the  basket,  too,  which  lay  against 
the  back  was  flat,  so  as  to  fit  to  it  exactly.  The 
outer  side  was  rounded.  It  was  open  at  the  top. 

The  basket  was  secured  to  its  place  upon  the 
child's  back  and  shoulders  by  means  of  two  flat 
strips  of  wood,  which  were  fastened  at  the  upper 
ends  of  them  to  the  back  of  the  basket  near  the 
top,  and  which  came  round  over  the  shoulders 
in  front,  and  then,  passing  under  the  arms,  were 


148        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


Rollo  would  like  just  such  a  basket. 


fastened  at  the  lower  ends  to  the  basket  near 
the  bottom.  The  basket  was  thus  supported  in 
its  place  and  carried  by  means  of  the  pressure 
of  these  straps  upon  the  shoulders. 

"  Uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  "  I  should  like  to 
have  such  a  basket  as  that  and  such  a  pair  of 
straps  to  carry  it  by." 

"What  would  you  do  with  it,"  asked  Mr. 
George,  "  if  you  had  it  ?  " 

"  Why,  it  would  be  very  convenient,'7  said 
Rollo,  "  in  America,  when  I  went  a-raspberry- 
ing.  You  see,  if  I  had  such  a  basket  as  that,  I 
could  bring  my  berries  home  on  my  back,  and  so 
have  my  hands  free." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  would  be  con 
venient." 

"  Besides,"  said  Rollo,  "  it  would  be  a  curi 
osity." 

"That's  true,"  replied  Mr.  George;  "but  it 
would  be  very  difficult  to  carry  so  bulky  a  thing 
home." 

After  some  further  conversation  it  was  con 
cluded  not  to  buy  the  basket,  but  to  ask  the  girl 
if  she  would  be  willing  to  sell  the  straps,  or 
bows,  that  it  was  fastened  with.  These  straps 
were  really  quite  curious.  They  were  made  of 
some  very  hard  and  smooth-grained  wood,  and 
were  nicely  carved  and  bent  so  as  to  fit  to  the 
girl's  shoulders  quite  precisely. 


THE  WENGERN  ALP.  149 

What  the  peasant  girl  said  about  selling  the  straps. 

Accordingly  Mr.  George,  speaking  in  French, 
requested  Henry  to  ask  the  girl  whether  she 
would  be  willing  to  sell  the  straps.  Henry  im 
mediately  addressed  the  girl  in  the  German  lan 
guage,  and  after  talking  with  her  a  few  minutes 
he  turned  again  to  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  and 
said  that  the  girl  would  rather  not  sell  them  her 
self,  as  they  belonged  to  her  father,  who  lived 
about  half  a  mile  farther  up  the  mountain.  But 
she  was  sure  her  father  would  sell  them  if  they 
would  stop  at  his  cottage  as  they  went  by.  He 
would  either  sell  them  that  pair,  she  said,  or  a 
new  pair ;  for  he  made  such  thing?  himself,  and 
he  had  two  or  three  new  pairs  in  his  cottage. 

"  Very  well/'  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  let  us  go  on. 

"  Which  would  you  rather  have,"  said  Mr. 
George  to  Rollo,  as  they  resumed  their  march, 
"  this  pair,  or  some  new  ones  1 " 

"  I  would  rather  have  this  pair,"  said  Rollo. 

"They  are  somewhat  soiled  and  worn,"  said 
Mr.  George. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  but  they  are  good  and 
strong  ;  and  as  soon  as  I  get  home  I  shall  rub 
them  all  off  clean  with  sand  paper  and  then  have 
them  varnished,  so  as  to  make  them  look  very 
oright  and  nice ;  and  then  I  shall  keep  them  for 
a  curiosity.  I  would  rather  have  this  pair,  for 
then  I  can  tell  people  that  I  bought  them  actually 


150        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


The  hamlet  on  the  mountain. 


off  the  shoulders  of  a  little  girl  who  was  carry 
ing  a  burden  with  them  up  the  Alps.''' 

In  due  time  the  party  reached  the  little  hamlet 
where  Ninette  lived.  The  hamlet  consisted  of  a 
scattered  group  of  cabins  and  cow  houses  on  a 
shelving  green  more  than  a  thousand  feet  above 
the  valley.  The  girl  led  the  party  to  the  door 
of  her  father's  hut  ;  and  there,  through  the  me 
dium  of  Henry  as  interpreter,  they  purchased 
the  two  bows  for  a  very  small  sum  of  money. 
They  also  bought  a  drink  of  excellent  milk  for 
the  whole  party  of  Ninette's  mother  and  then 
resumed  their  journey. 

As  they  went  on  they  obtained  from  time  to 
time  very  grand  and  extended  views  of  the  sur 
rounding  mountains.  Whether  they  turned  their 
eyes  above  or  below  them,  the  prospect  was 
equally  wonderful.  In  the  latter  case  they 
looked  down  on  distant  villages  ;  some  clinging 
to  the  hillsides,  others  nestling  in  the  valleys, 
and  others  still  perched,  like  the  one  where 
Ninette  lived,  on  shelving  slopes  of  green  pas 
ture  land,  which  terminated  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  dwellings  on  the  brink  of  the  most 
frightful  precipices.  Above  were  towering 
forests  and  verdant  slopes  of  land,  dotted  with 
chalets  or  broken  here  and  there  by  the  gray 
rocks  which  appeared  among  them.  Higher 


THE  WENGERN  ALP.  151 

Prospects.  Exchanging  places. 

still  were  lofty  crags,  with  little  sunny  nooks 
among  them  —  the  dizzy  pasturages  of  the  cham 
ois  ;  and  above  these  immense  fields  of  ice  and 
snow,  which  pierced  the  sky  with  the  glittering 
peaks  and  summits  in  which  they  terminated. 
Mr.  George  and  Rollo  paused  frequently,  as  they 
continued  their  journey,  to  gaze  around  them 
upon  these  stupendous  scenes. 

At  length,  when  the  steepest  part  of  the  as 
cent  had  been  accomplished,  Mr.  George  said 
that  he  was  tired  of  climbing,  and  proposed  that 
Rollo  should  dismount  and  take  his  turn  in 
walking. 

"  If  you  were  a  lady,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  I 
would  let  you  ride  all  the  way.  But  you  are 
strong  and  capable,  and  as  well  able  to  walk  as 
I  am  —  better,  I  suppose,  in  fact ;  so  you  may 
as  well  take  your  turn." 

"Yes/7  said  Rollo  ;  "I  should  like  it.  I  am 
tired  of  riding.  I  would  rather  walk  than  not." 

So  Henry  assisted  Rollo  to  dismount,  and  then 
adjusted  the  stirrups  to  Mr.  George's  use,  and 
Mr.  George  mounted  into  the  saddle. 

"How  glad  I  am  to  come  to  the  end  of  my 
walking,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  and  to  get  upon,  a 
horse !  " 

"How  glad  I  am  to  come  to  the  end  of  my 
riding,"  said  Rollo,  "  and  to  get  upon  my  feet ! }| 


152        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Pasturage  upon  the  mountains. 

Thus  both  of  the  travellers  seemed  pleased 
with  the  change.  The  road  now  became  fa* 
more  easy  to  be  travelled  than  before.  The 
steepest  part  of  the  ascent  had  been  surmounted, 
and  for  the  remainder  of  the  distance  the  path 
followed  a  meandering  way  over  undulating 
land,  which,  though  not  steep,  was  continually 
ascending.  Here  and  there  herds  of  cattle  were 
seen  grazing  ;  and  there  were  scattered  huts,  and 
sometimes  little  hamlets,  where  the  peasants 
lived  in  the  summer,  to  tend  their  cows  and 
make  butter  and  cheese  from  their  milk.  In 
the  fall  of  the  year  they  drive  the  cattle  down 
again  to  the  lower  valleys  ;  for  these  high  pas 
turages,  though  green  and  sunny  in  the  summer 
and  affording  an  abundance  of  sweet  and  nu 
tritious  grass  for  the  sheep  and  cows  that  feed 
upon  them,  are  buried  deep  in  snows,  and  are 
abandoned  to  the  mercy  of  the  most  furious 
tempests  and  storms  during  all  the  winter  portion 
of  the  year.  Our  travellers  passed  many  scat 
tered  forests,  some  of  which  were  seen  clinging 
to  the  mountain  sides,  at  a  vast  elevation  above 
them.  In  others  men  were  at  work  felling  trees 
or  cutting  up  the  wood.  Hollo  stopped  at  one 
of  these  places  and  procured  a  small  billet  of 
the  Alpine  wood,  as  large  as  he  could  conven 
iently  carry  in  his  pocket,  intending  to  have 


THE  WENGERN  ALP.  153 

A  party  of  peasant  girls  with  flowers. 

something  made  from  it  when  he  should  get 
home  to  America.  The  woodman,  at  Henry's 
request,  cut  out  this  billet  of  wood  for  Kollo, 
making  it  of  the  size  which  Rollo  indicated  to 
him  by  a  gesture  with  his  finger. 

At  one  time  the  party  met  a  company  of  peas 
ant  girls  coming  down  from  the  mountain. 
They  came  into  the  path  by  which  our  travellers 
were  ascending  from  a  side  path  which  seemed 
to  lead  up  a  secluded  glen.  These  girls  came 
dancing  gayly  along  with  bouquets  of  flowers  in 
their  hands  and  garlands  in  their  hair.  They 
looked  bright  and  blooming,  and  seemed  very 
contented  and  happy. 

They  bowed  very  politely  to  Mr.  George  and 
to  Rollo  as  they  passed. 

"  Guten  abend"  said  they. 

These  are  the  German  words  for  "  Good 
evening."  * 

"  Guten  abend"  said  both  Mr.  George  and 
Rollo  in  reply. 

The  girls  thus  passed  by  and  went  on  their 
way  down  the  mountain. 

"  Where  have  they  been  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  They  have  been  at  work  gathering  up  the 
small  stones  from  the  pasturages,  I  suppose/7  said 

*  They  are  pronounced  as  if  spelled  Gooten  arbend. 


154        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  difference  between  climbing  on  foot  and  on  horseback. 

Henry.  "  Companies  of  girls  go  out  for  that  a 
great  deal." 

After  getting  upon  the  horse,  Mr.  George  took 
care  to  keep  behind  Hollo  and  the  guide.  He 
knew  very  well  that  if  he  were  to  go  on  in  ad 
vance  Rollo  would  exert  himself  more  than  he 
otherwise  would  do,  under  the  influence  of  a  sort 
of  feeling  that  he  ought  to  try  to  keep  up. 
While  Rollo  was  on  the  horse  himself,  having 
the  guide  with  him  too,  Mr.  George  knew  that 
there  was  no  danger  from  this  source,  as  any 
one  who  is  on  horseback  or  in  a  carriage  never 
has  the  feeling  of  being  left  behind  when  a  com 
panion  who  is  on  foot  by  chance  gets  before 
him.  Consequently,  while  they  were  coining  up 
the  steep  part  of  the  mountain,  Mr.  George 
went  on  as  fast  as  he  pleased,  leaving  Rollo  and 
Henry  to  come  on  at  their  leisure.  But  now  his 
kind  consideration  for  Rollo  induced  him  to 
keep  carefully  behind. 

"  Now,  Rollo,"  said  he,  "  you  and  Henry  may 
go  on  just  as  fast  or  just  as  slow  as  you  please, 
without  paying  any  regard  to  me.  I  shall  fol 
low  along  at  my  leisure." 

Thus  Rollo,  seeing  that  Mr.  George  was  be 
hind,  went  on  very  leisurely,  and  enjoyed  his 
walk  and  his  talk  with  Henry  very  much. 

"  Did  you  ever  study  English,  Henry  ?  "  said 
Rollo. 


THE   WENGERN  ALP.  155 

Hollo  undertakes  to  teach  the  guide  to  talk  English. 

"  No,'7  said  Henry  ;  "  but  I  wish  I  could  speak 
English,  very  much.7 

"  Why  ?  '7  asked  Rollo. 

"Because  there  are  so  many  English  people 
coming  here  that  I  have  to  guide  up  the  moun 
tains.77 

"  Well,77  said  Rollo,  "  you  can  begin  now.  I 
will  teach  you.77 

So  he  began  to  teach  the  guide  to  say  "  How 
do  you  do  ? 77  in  English. 

This  conversation  between  Rollo  and  Henry 
was  in  French.  Rollo  had  studied  French  a 
great  deal  by  the  help  of  books  when  he  was  at 
home,  and  he  had  taken  so  much  pains  to  im 
prove  by  practice  since  he  had  been  in  France 
and  Switzerland  that  he  could  now  get  along  in 
a  short  and  simple  conversation  very  well. 

While  our  party  had  been  coming  up  the 
mountain,  the  weather,  though  perfectly  clear 
and  serene  in  the  morning,-  had  become  some 
what  overcast.  Misty  clouds  were  to  be  seen 
here  and  there  floating  along  the  sides  or  rest 
ing  on  the  summits  of  the  mountains.  At  length, 
while  Rollo  was  in  the  midst  of  the  English  les 
son  which  he  was  giving  to  the  guide,  his  atten 
tion  was  arrested,  just  as  they  were  emerging 
from  the  border  of  a  little  thicket  of  stunted 
evergreens,  by  what  seemed  to  be  a  prolonged 


156        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

An  avalanche.  The  travellers'  mistake. 

clap  of  thunder.  It  came  apparently  out  of  a 
mass  of  clouds  and  vapor  which  Rollo  saw  mov 
ing  majestically  in  the  southern  sky. 

"  Thunder ! "  exclaimed  Rollo,  looking  alarmed. 
"  There's  thunder  !  " 

"  No,"  said  Henry  ;  "  an  avalanche." 

The  sound  rolled  and  reverberated  in  the  sky 
for  a  considerable  time  like  a  prolonged  peal  of 
thunder.  Rollo  thought  that  Henry  must  be 
mistaken  in  supposing  it  an  avalanche. 

At  this  moment  Rollo. -looking  round,  saw  Mr. 
George  coming  up,  on  his  horse,  at  a  turn  of  the 
path  a  little  way  behind  them. 

"Henry,"  said  Mr.  George,  "there  is  a  thun 
der  shower  coming  up  ;  we  must  hasten  on." 

"  No,"  said  Henry  ;  "  that  was  an  avalanche." 

"  An  avalanche  ?  "  exclaimed  Mr.  George. 
"Why,  the  sound  came  out  of  the  middle  of  the 
sky." 

"  It  was  an  avalanche,"  said  the  guide,  "  from 
the  Jungfrau.  See!  "  he  added,  pointing  up  into 
the  sky. 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  both  looked  in  the  di 
rection  where  Henry  pointed,  and  there  they 
saw  a  vast  rocky  precipice  peering  out  through 
a  break  in  the  clouds  high  up  in  the  sky.  An 
immense  snow  bank  was  reposing  upon  its  sum 
mit.  The  glittering  whiteness  of  this  snow  con- 


THE  WENGERN  ALP.  157 

Glimpses  of  the  Jungfrau.  Rocks  and  ice  in  the  clouds  ! 

trasted  strongly  with  the  sombre  gray  of  the 
clouds  through  which,  as  through  an  opening  in 
a  curtain,  it  was  seen. 

Presently  another  break  in  the  clouds,  and  then 
another,  occurred ;  at  each  of  which  towering 
rocks  or  great  perpendicular  walls  of  glittering 
ice  and  snow  came  into  view. 

"  The  Jungfrau/'  said  the  guide. 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  gazed  at  this  spectacle 
for  some  minutes  in  silence,  when  at  length  Rollo 
said, — 

"  Why,  uncle  George !  the  sky  is  all  full  of 
rocks  and  ice  !  " 

"  It  is  indeed  !  "  said  Mr.  George. 

It  was  rather  fortunate  than  otherwise  that  the 
landscape  was  obscured  with  clouds  when  Mr. 
George  and  Rollo  first  came  into  the  vicinity  of 
the  Jungfrau,  as  the  astonishing  spectacle  of 
rocks  and  precipices  and  immense  accumula 
tions  of  snow  and  ice,  breaking  out  as  it  were 
through  the  clouds  all  over  the  sky,  was  in  some 
respects  more  impressive  than  the  full  and  unob 
structed  view  of  the  whole  mountain  would  have 
been. 

"  I  wish  the  clouds  would  clear  away,"  said 
Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  should  like  to 
see  the  whole  side  of  the  mountain  very  much/' 


158        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Listening  to  the  avalanches. 

Here  another  long  and  heavy  peal,  like  thun 
der,  began  to  be  heard.  Mr.  George  stopped 
his  ho  ,'se  to  listen.  Hollo  and  Henry  stopped 
too.  The  sound  seemed  to  commence  high  up 
among  the  clouds.  The  echoes  and  reverbera* 
tions  were  reflected  from  the  rocks  and  preci 
pices  all  around  it ;  but  the  peal  seemed  slowly 
and  gradually  to  descend  towards  the  horizon ; 
and  finally,  after  the  lapse  of  two  or  three  min 
utes,  it  entirely  ceased. 

The  travellers  paused  a  moment  after  the  sound 
ceased  and  continued  to  listen.  When  they  found 
that  all  was  still  they  began  to  move  on  again. 

"  I  wish  I  could  have  seen  that  avalanche,"  said 
Rollo. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  hope  the  clouds 
will  clear  away  by  the  time  we  get  to  the  inn." 

It  was  just  about  sunset  when  the  party  reached 
the  inn.  Rollo  was  beginning  to  get  a  little  tired, 
though  the  excitement  of  the  excursion  and  the 
effect  produced  on  his  mind  by  the  strange  aspect 
of  every  thing  around  him  inspired  him  with  so 
much  animation  and  strength  that  he  held  on  in 
his  walk  very  well  indeed.  It  is  true  that  a 
great  portion  of  the  mountain  scenery  around 
him  was  concealed  from  view  by  the  clouds  ; 
but  there  was  something  in  the  appearance  of 
the  rocks,  in  the  character  of  the  vegetation,  and 


THE  WENGERN  ALP. 


The  travellers  reach  a  hotel  upon  the  mountain. 

especially  in  the  aspect  and  expression  of  the 
patches  of  snow  which  were  to  be  seen  here  and 
there  in  nooks  and  corners  near  the  path,  —  the 
remains  of  the  vast  accumulations  of  the  preced 
ing  winter  which  the  sun  had  not  yet  dispelled, 
—  that  impressed  Kollo  continually  with  a  senti 
ment  of  wonder  and  awe,  and  led  him  to  feel  that 
he  had  attained  to  a  vast  elevation,  and  that  he 
was  walking,  as  he  really  was,  among  the  clouds. 

The  inn,  when  the  party  first  came  in  sight  of 
it,  appeared  more  like  a  log  cabin  in  America 
than  like  a  well-known  and  much-frequented 
European  hotel.  It  stood  on  a  very  small  plot 
of  ground,  which  formed  a  sort  of  projection  on 
a  steep  mountain  side,  facing  the  Jungfrau.  In 
front  of  the  hotel  the  land  descended  very  rap 
idly  for  a  considerable  distance.  The  descent 
terminated  at  last  on  the  brink  of  an  enormous 
ravine  which  separated  the  base  of  the  Wengern 
Alp  from  that  of  the  Jungfrau.  Behind  the  house 
the  land  rose  in  a  broad,  green  slope,  dotted  with 
Alpine  flowers  and  terminating  in  a  smooth, 
rounded  summit  far  above.  The  house  itself 
seemed  small,  and  was  rudely  constructed.  There 
was  a  sort  of  piazza  in  front  of  it,  with  a  bench 
and  a  table  before  it. 

"  That  is  where  the  people  sit,  I  suppose,"  said 
Mr.  George,  "in  pleasant  weather  to  see  the 
Jungfrau."  _ 


160        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Mr.  George's  opinion  about  tlie  weather. 

"  Yes/'  said  Rollo. 

"  For  the  Jungfrau  must  be  over  there,"  said 
Mr.  George,  pointing  among  the  clouds  in  the 
southern  sky. 

All  doubt  about  the  position  of  the  mountain, 
was  removed  at  the  instant  that  Mr.  George  had 
spoken  these  words,  by  another  avalanche,  which 
just  at  that  moment  commenced  its  fall.  They 
all  stopped  to  listen.  The  sound  was  greatly 
prolonged,  sometimes  roaring  continuously  for  a 
time,  like  a  cataract,  and  then  rumbling  and 
crashing  like  a  peal  of  thunder. 

"  What  a  pity  that  the  clouds  are  in  the  way," 
said  Hollo,  "so  that  we  can't  see !  Do  you  think 
it  will  clear  up  before  we  go  away  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  am  very  sure  it 
will ;  for  I  am  determined  not  to  go  away  till  it 
does  clear  up." 

There  were  one  or  two  buildings  attached  to 
the  inn  which  served  apparently  as  barns  and 
sheds.  The  door  of  entrance  was  round  in  a 
corner  formed  by  the  connection  of  one  of  these 
buildings  with  the  house.  Henry  led  the  horse 
up  to  this  door,  and  Mr.  George  dismounted. 
The  guide  led  the  horse  away,  and  Rollo  and 
Mr.  George  went  into  the  house.  A  young  and 
very  blooming  Swiss  girl  received  them  in  the 
hall  and  opened  a  door  for  them  which  led  to 
the  public  sitting  room. 


THE  WENGERN  ALP.  161 

The  sitting  room  of  the  hotel. 

The  sitting  room  was  a  large  apartment,  which 
extended  along  the  whole  front  of  the  house. 
The  windows,  of  course,  looked  out  towards  the 
Jungfrau.  There  was  a  long  table  in  the  middle 
of  the  room,  and  one  or  two  smaller  ones  in  the 
back  corners.  At  these  tables  two  or  three  par 
ties  were  seated,  eating  their  dinners.  In  one 
of  the  front  corners  was  a  fireplace,  with  a  small 
fire,  made  of  pine  wood,  burning  on  the  hearth. 
A  young  lady  was  sitting  near  this  fire,  reading. 
Another  was  at  a  small  table  near  it,  writing  in 
her  journal.  Around  the  walls  of  the  room  were 
a  great  many  engravings  and  colored  litho 
graphs  of  Swiss  scenery  ;  among  them  were 
several  views  of  the  Jungfrau.  On  the  whole, 
the  room,  though  perfectly  plain  and  even  rude 
in  all  its  furniture  and  appointments,  had  a  very 
comfortable  and  attractive  appearance. 

"  What  a  snug  and  pleasant-looking  place!" 
said  Hollo,  whispering  to  Mr.  George  as  they 
went  in. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  It  is  just  exactly 
such  a  place  as  I  wished  to  find." 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  were  both  of  them  tired 
and  hungry.  They  first  called  for  rooms.  The 
maid  took  them  up  stairs  and  gave  them  two 
small  rooms  next  each  other.  The  rooms  were, 
in  fact,  very  small.  The  furniture  in  them,  too, 


162        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Ready  for  dinner.  Hollo's  consideration. 

was  of  the  plainest  description  ;  but  every  thing 
was  neat  and  comfortable,  and  the  aspect  of  the 
interior  of  them  was,  on  the  whole,  quite  at 
tractive. 

In  about  fifteen  minutes  Rollo  knocked  at  Mr. 
George's  door  and  asked  if  he  was  ready  to  go 
down. 

"Not  quite,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "but  I  wish 
that  you  would  go  down  and  order  dinner." 

So  Rollo  went  down  again  into  the  public 
room  and  asked  the  maid  if  she  could  get  them 
some  dinner. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  maid.  "  What  would  you  like 
to  have  ?  " 

Rollo  was  considerate  enough  to  know  that 
there  could  be  very  little  to  eat  in  the  house 
except  what  had  been  brought  up  in  a  very  toil 
some  and  difficult  manner,  from  the  valleys  be 
low,  by  the  zigzag  paths  which  he  and  his  uncle 
had  been  climbing.  So  he  said  in  reply,  — 

"  Whatever  you  please.  It  is  not  important 
to  us." 

The  maid  then  told  him  what  they  had  in  the 
house  ;  and  Rollo,  selecting  from  these  things, 
ordered  what  he  thought  would  make  an  excel 
lent  dinner.  The  dinner,  in  fact,  when  it  came 
to  the  table,  proved  to  be  a  very  excellent  one 
indeed.  It  consisted  of  broiled  chicken,  some 


THE  WENGERN  ALP.  163 

Good  appetites  of  the  travellers.  Clearing  away. 

most  excellent  fried  potatoes,  eggs,  fresh  and 
very  nice  bread,  and  some  honey.  For  drink, 
they  had  at  first  water  ;  and  at  the  end  of  the 
meal  some  French  coffee,  which,  being  diluted 
with  boiled  milk  that  was  very  rich  and  sweet, 
was  truly  delicious. 

"  I  have  not  had  so  good  a  dinner,"  said  Mr. 
George,  "  since  I  have  been  in  Europe." 

"No,"saidRollo;  "nor  I." 

"  It  is  owing  in  part,  I  suppose,  to  the  appe 
tite  we  have  got  in  climbing  up  the  mountain," 
said  Mr.  George. 

Just  as  the  young  gentlemen  had  finished  their 
dinner  and  were  about  to  rise  from  the  table, 
their  attention  was  attracted  by  an  exclamation 
of  delight  which  came  from  one  of  the  young 
ladies  who  were  sitting  at  the  fireplace  when 
Mr.  George  and  Rollo  came  in. 

"  0  Emma,"  said  she,  "  come  here  1  " 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  looked  up,  and  they 
saw  that  the  young  lady  whose  voice  they  had 
heard  was  standing  at  the  window.  Emma 
rose  from  her  seat  and  went  to  the  window  in 
answer  to  the  call.  Mr.  George  and  Rollo 
looked  out,  too,  at  another  window.  They  saw  a 
spectacle  which  filled  them  with  astonishment. 

"  It  is  clearing  away,"  said  Rollo.  "  Let  us 
go  out  in  front  of  the  house  and  look." 


164        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Magnificent  spectacle  at  sunset. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  we  will." 

So  they  both  left  their  seats,  and,  putting  on 
their  caps,  they  went  out.  As  soon  as  they 
reached  the  platform  where  the  bench  and  the 
table  were  standing  they  gazed  on  the  scene 
which  was  presented  to  their  view  with  wonder 
and  delight. 

It  was,  indeed,  clearing  away.  The  clouds 
were  "  lifting  "  from  the  mountains  ;  and  the  sun, 
which  had  been  for  some  hours  obscured,  was 
breaking  forth  in  the  west  and  illuminating  the 
whole  landscape  with  his  setting  beams.  Oppo 
site  to  where  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  stood, 
across  the  valley,  they  could  see  the  whole 
mighty  mass  of  the  Jungfrau  coming  into  view 
beneath  the  edge  of  the  cloudy  curtain  which 
was  slowly  rising. 

The  lower  portion  of  the  mountain  was  an 
immense  precipice,  the  foot  of  which  was  hidden 
from  view  in  the  great  chasm,  or  ravine,  which 
separated  the  Jungfrau  from  the  Wengern  Alp. 
Above  this  were  rocks  and  great  sloping  fields 
of  snow  formed  from  avalanches  which  had  fallen 
down  from  above.  Still  higher,  there  were 
brought  to  view  vast  fields  of  ice  and  snow,  with 
masses  of  rock  breaking  out  here  and  there 
among  them,  some  in  the  form  of  precipices  and 
crags,  and  others  shooting  up  in  jagged  pinna- 


THE  WENGEKN  ALP.  165 

The  peaks  and  precipices  of  the  Jungfrau. 

cles  and  peaks,  rising  to  dizzy  heights,  to  the 
summits  of  which  nothing  but  the  condor  or  the 
eagle  could  ever  attain.  Still  higher  were  preci 
pices  of  blue  and  pellucid  ice,  and  boundless 
fields  of  glittering  snow,  and  immense  drifts, 
piled  one  above  the  other  in  vast  volumes,  and 
overhanging  the  cliffs  as  if  just  ready  to  fall. 

In  a  short  time  the  clouds  rose  so  as  to  clear 
the  summit  of  the  mountain  ;  and  then  the  whole 
mighty  mass  was  seen  revealed  fully  to  view, 
glittering  in  the  sunbeams  and  filling  half  the 
sky. 

The  other  guests  of  the  inn  came  out  upon  the 
platform  while  Hollo  and  Mr.  George  were 
there,  having  wrapped  themselves  previously  in 
their  coats  and  shawls,  as  the  evening  air  was 
cool.  Some  other  parties  of  travellers  came,  too, 
winding  their  way  slowly  up  the  same  pathway 
where  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  had  come.  Mr, 
George  and  Rollo  paid  very  little  attention  to 
these  new  coiners,  their  minds  being  wholly  oc 
cupied  by  the  mountain. 

In  a  very  short  time  after  the  face  of  the 
Jungfrau  came  fully  into  view,  the  attention  of 
all  the  company  that  were  looking  at  the  scene 
was  arrested  by  the  commencement  of  another 
peal  of  the  same  thundering  sound  that  Mr. 
George  and  Hollo  had  heard  with  so  much  won- 


166        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

A  cataract  of  snow.  The  reverberations  of  an  avalanche. 

der  in  coming  up  the  mountain.  A  great  many 
exclamations  immediately  broke  out  from  the 
party. 

"  There  !  hark  !  look  !  "  said  they.  "  An  ava 
lanche  !  An  avalanche !  " 

The  sound  was  loud  and  almost  precisely  like 
thunder.  Every  one  looked  in  the  direction 
from  which  it  proceeded.  There  they  soon  saw, 
half  way  up  the  mountain,  a  stream  of  snow,  like 
a  cataract,  creeping  slowly  over  the  brink  of  a 
precipice,  and  falling  in  a  continued  torrent 
upon  the  rocks  below.  From  this  place  they 
could  see  it  slowly  creeping  down  the  long  slope 
towards  another  precipice,  and  where,  when  it 
reached  the  brink,  it  fell  over  in  another  cata 
ract,  producing  another  long  peal  of  thunder, 
which,  being,  repeated  by  the  echoes  of  the 
mountains  and  rocks  around,  filled  the  whole 
heavens  with  its  rolling  reverberations.  In  this 
manner  the  mass  of  ice  and  snow  went  down 
slope  after  slope  and  over  precipice  after  preci 
pice,  till  at  length  it  made  its  final  plunge  into 
the  great  chasm  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
and  disappeared  from  view. 

In  the  course  of  an  hour  several  other  ava 
lanches  were  heard  and  seen  ;  and  when  at  length 
it  grew  too  dark  to  see  them  any  longer,  the 


THE  WENGEKN  ALP.  167 

Hollo  sleeps  soundly. 

thundering  roar  of  them  was  heard  from  time 
to  time  all  the  night  long. 

Rollo,  however,  was  so  tired  that,  though  he 
went  to  bed  quite  early,  he  did  not  hear  the 
avalanches  or  any  thing  else  until  Mr.  George 
called  him  the  next  morning. 


168         ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 


Reluctance  in  leaving  the  Jungfrau. 


CHAPTER   X. 
GOING  DOWN  THE  MOUNTAIN. 

MR.  GEORGE  and  Rollo  met  with  various  ad 
ventures  and  incidents  in  going  down  the  next 
day  to  Grindelwald  which  are  quite  character 
istic  of  mountain  travelling  in  Switzerland. 

They  did  not  set  out  very  early  in  the  morn 
ing,  as  Mr.  George  wished  to  stay  as  long  a&> 
possible  to  gaze  on  the  face  of  the  Jungfrau  ana 
watch  the  avalanches. 

"  Rollo,"  said  he,  as  they  were  standing  to 
gether  in  front  of  the  hotel  after  breakfast, 
"how  would  you  like  to  go  up  with  me  to  the 
top  of  that  hill  ?  " 

So  saying,  Mr.  George  pointed  to  the  great 
rounded  summit  which  was  seen  rising  behind 
the  hotel. 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  I  should  like  to  go  very 
much  indeed." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  we  will  go. 
But  first  let  me  get  my  pressing  book  to  put 
some  flowers  in,  in  case  we  find  any." 


CrOING    DOWN    THE    MOUNTAIN.      169 
How  to  press  flowers.  Mr.  George's  pressing  book. 

Mr.  George's  pressing  book  was  a  contrivance 
which  he  had  invented  for  the  more  convenient 
desiccation  of  such  flowers  as  he  might  gather 
in  his  travels  and  wish  to  carry  home  with  him 
and  preserve,  either  for  botanical  specimens  or 
as  souvenirs  for  his  friends.  It  was  made  by 
taking  out  all  the  leaves  of  a  small  book  and  re 
placing  them  with  an  equal  number  of  loose 
leaves,  made  for  the  purpose,  of  blotting  paper, 
and  trimmed  to  the  right  size.  Such  small 
flowers  as  he  might  gather  in  the  various  places 
that  he  visited  could  be  much  more  conveniently 
pressed  and  preserved  between  these  loose  leaves 
of  blotting  paper  than  between  the  leaves  of  an 
ordinary  book.* 

So  Mr.  George,  taking  his  pressing  book  in 
his  hand,  led  the  way  ;  and  Rollo  following  him, 
they  attempted  to  ascend  the  hill  behind  the  inn. 
They  found  the  ascent,  however,  extremely  steep 
and  difficult.  There  were  no  rocks  and  no 
roughnesses  of  any  kind  in  the  way.  It  was 
merely  a  grassy  slope  like  the  steep  face  of  a 
terrace ;  but  it  was  so  steep  that,  after  Mr. 
George  and  Hollo  had  scrambled  up  two  or 


*  Flowers  dry  faster  and  better  bttween  sheets  of  blotting 
paper  than  between  those  of  common  printing  paper,  such  as  ia 
used  for  books ;  for  the  surface  of  this  latter  is  covered  with  a 
Bort  of  sizing  used  in  the  manufacture  of  it,  and  which  pre« 
vents  the  moisture  of  the  plant  from  entering  into  the  paper. 


170        KOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Mr.  George  and  Hollo  climbing  the  hill. 

three  hundred  feet,  it  made  Hollo  almost  dizzy 
to  look  down  ;  and  he  began  to  cling  to  the 
grass  and  to  feel  afraid. 

"  Rollo,"  said  Mr.  George,  "I  am  almost  afraid 
to  climb  up  here  any  higher.  Do  you  feel  afraid  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Rollo,  endeavoring  at  the  same 
time  to  reassure  himself.  "  No,  sir  ;  I  am  not 
much  afraid." 

"  Let  us  stop  a  few  minutes  .to  rest  and  look  at 
the  mountain,"  said  Mr.  George. 

Mr.  George  knew  very  well  that  there  was  no 
real  danger  ;  for  the  slope,  though  very  steep, 
was  very  grassy  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  ;  and 
even  if  Rollo  had  fallen  and  rolled  down  it  could 
not  have  done  him  much  harm. 

After  a  short  pause,  to  allow  Rollo  to  get  a 
little  familiar  with  the  scene,  Mr.  George  began 
to  move  on.  Rollo  followed.  Both  Rollo  and 
Mr.  George  would  occasionally  look  up  to  see 
how  far  they  were  from  the  top.  It  was  very 
difficult,  however,  to  look  up,  as  in  doing  so  it 
was  necessary  to  lean  the  head  so  far  back  that 
they  came  very  near  losing  their  balance. 

After  going  on  for  about  half  an  hour,  Mr. 
George  said  that  he  did  not  see  that  they  were 
any  nearer  the  top  of  the  hill  than  they  were  at 
the  beginning. 

"  Nor  I  either,"  said  Rollo  ;  "  and  I  think  we 
had  better  go  back  again." 


GOING  DOWN  THE  MOUNTAIN.    171 

Returning.  The  journey  to  Grindelwald. 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  we  will ;  but  let 
us  first  stop  here  a  few  minutes  to  look  at  the 
Jungfrau." 

The  view  of  the  Jungfrau  was  of  course  more 
commanding  here  than  it  was  down  at  the  inn. 
So  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  remained  some  time 
at  their  resting-place  gazing  at  the  mountain  and 
watching  for  avalanches.  At  length  they  returned 
to  the  inn  ;  and  an  hour  or  two  afterwards  they  set 
out  on  their  journey  to  Grindelwald. 

The  reader  will  recollect  that  Grindelwald 
was  the  valley  on  the  other  side  of  the  Wengern 
Alp  from  Lauterbrunnen,  and  that  our  travellers, 
having  come  up  one  way,  were  going  down  the 
other.* 

The  distance  from  the  inn  at  the  Wengern  Alp 
to  Grindelwald  is  seven  or  eight  miles.  For  a 
time  the  path  ascends,  for  the  inn  is  not  at  the 
summit  of  the  pass.  Until  it  attains  the  summit 
it  leads  through  a  region  of  hills  and  ravines, 
with  swamps,  morasses,  precipices  of  rocks,  and 
great  patches  of  snow  scattered  here  and  there 
along  the  way.  At  one  place  Rollo  met  with  an 
adventure  which  for  a  moment  put  him  in  con 
siderable  danger.  It  was  at  a  place  where  the 
path  led  along  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  with 

*  See  map. 


172        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Hollo's  adventure  on  horseback. 

a  smooth  grassy  slope  above  and  a  steep  descent 
ending  in  another  smooth  grassy  slope  below. 
At  a  little  distance  forward  there  was  a  great 
patch  of  snow,  the  edge  of  which  came  over  the 
path  and  covered  it. 

A  heavy  mist  had  come  up  just  before  Rollo 
reached  this  place,  and  he  had  accordingly  spread 
his  umbrella  over  his  head.  He  was  riding  along, 
holding  the  bridle  in  one  hand  and  his  umbrella 
in  the  other,  so  that  both  his  hands  were  con 
fined.  Mr.  George  was  walking  at  some  dis 
tance  before.  The  guide,  too,  was  a  little  in 
advance,  for  the  path  was  too  narrow  for  him 
to  walk  by  the  side  of  the  horse  ;  and,  as  the 
way  here  was  smooth  and  pretty  level,  he  did 
not  consider  it  necessary  that  he  should  be  in 
very  close  attendance  on  Rollo. 

Things  being  in  this  condition,  the  horse  — 
when  he  came  in  sight  of  the  snow,  which  lay 
covering  the  path  at  a  little  distance  before  him 
—  concluded  that  it  would  be  safer  both  for  him 
and  for  his  rider  that  he  should  not  attempt  to 
go  through  it,  having  learned  by  experience  that 
his  feet  would  sink  sometimes  to  great  depths  in 
such  cases.  So  he  determined  to  turn  round  and 
go  back.  He  accordingly  stopped  ;  and  turning 
his  head  towards  the  grassy  bank  above  the  path 
and  his  heels  towards  the  brink  on  the  other  side, 


GOING  DOWN  THE  MOUNTAIN.     173 

Horsemanship.  Backing  off  the  mountain. 


1HE  FALL. 

as  horses  always  do  when  they  undertake  such  a 
manoeuvre  in  a  narrow  path,  he  attempted  to  "go 
about,"  Rollo  was  of  course  utterly  unable  to 
do  any  thing  to  control  him  except  to  pull  one 
of  the  reins  to  bring  him  back  into  the  path,  and 
strike  his  heels  into  the  horse's  side  as  if  he  were 
spurring  him.  This,  however,  only  made  the 
matter  worse.  The  horse  backed  off  the  brink  ; 
and  both  he  and  Rollo,  falling  head  over  heels, 
rolled  down  the  steep  slope  together. 

And  not  together  exactly,  either ;  for  Rollo, 


174        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Going  "  head  over  heels."  Hollo  remounts. 

who  was  usually  pretty  alert  and  ready  in  emer 
gencies  of  difficulty  or  danger,  when  he  found 
himself  rolling  down  the  slope,  though  he  could 
not  stop,  still  contrived  to  wriggle  and  twist 
himself  off  to  one  side,  so  as  to  get  clear  of  the 
horse  and  roll  off  himself  in  a  different  direc 
tion.  They  both,  however,  the  animal  and  the 
boy,  soon  came  to  a  stop.  Rollo  was  up  in  an 
instant.  The  horse,  too,  contrived,  after  some 
scrambling,  to  gain  his  feet.  All  this  time  the 
guide  remained  in  the  path  on  the  brink  of  the 
descent  transfixed  with  astonishment  and  con 
sternation. 

"Henry,"  said  Rollo,  looking  up  to  the  guide, 
"  what  is  the  French  for  head  over  heels  ?  " 

A  very  decided  but  somewhat  equivocal  smile 
spread  itself  over  Henry's  features  on  hearing 
this  question,  which,  however,  he  did  not  under 
stand  ;  and  he  immediately  began  to  run  down 
the  bank  to  get  the  horse. 

"  Because/'  said  Rollo,  still  speaking  in  French, 
"  that  is  what  in  English  we  call  going  head  over 
heels." 

Henry  led  the  horse  round  by  a  circuitous  way 
back  to  the  path.  Rollo  followed  ;  and  as  soon 
as  they  reached  it  Rollo  mounted  again.  Henry 
then  took  hold  of  the  bridle  of  the  horse  and  led 
him  along  till  they  got  through  the  snow  ;  after 


GOING  DOWN  THE  MOUNTAIN.    175 

The  Swiss  pasturages  upon  the  mountains. 

which  they  went  on  without  any  further  diffi 
culty. 

The  path  led  for  a  time  along  a  very  wild  and 
desolate  region,  which  seemed  to  be  bordered  on 
the  right,  at  a  distance  of  two  or  three  miles,  by 
a  range  of  stupendous  precipices,  surmounted  by 
peaks  covered  with  ice  and  snow,  which  pre 
sented  to  the  view  a  spectacle  of  the  most  as 
tonishing  grandeur.  At  one  point  in  the  path 
Hollo  saw  at  a  distance  before  him  a  number  of 
buildings  scattered  over  a  green  slope  of  land. 

"  Ah,"  said  he  to  the  guide,  "  we  are  coming  to 
a  village." 

"  No,"  said  the  guide.  "  It  is  a  pasturage.  We 
are  too  high  yet  for  a  village." 

On  asking  for  a  further  explanation,  Rollo 
learned  that  the  mountaineers  were  accus 
tomed  to  drive  their  herds  up  the  mountains 
in  the  summer  to  places  too  cold  to  be  inhab 
ited  all  the  year  round,  and  to  live  there  with 
them  in  these  little  huts  during  the  two  or  three 
months  while  the  grass  was  green.  The  men 
would  bring  up  their  milking  pails,  their  pans, 
their  churns,  their  cheese  presses,  and  their  ket 
tles  for  cooking,  and  thus  live  in  a  sort  of  en 
campment  while  the  grass  lasted,  and  mako 
butter  and  cheese  to  carry  down  the  mountain 
with  them  when  they  returned. 
12 


176         ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

An  Alpine  horn.  Echoes.  The  peasant's  cannon. 

At  one  time  Hollo  saw  at  the  door  of  one  of 
the  huts  a  man  with  what  seemed  to  be  a  Ions: 

O 

pole  in  his  hand.  It  was  bent  at  the  lower  end. 
The  man  came  out  of  a  hut,  and,  putting  the  bent 
end  of  the  pole  to  the  ground,  he  brought  the 
other  up  near  to  his  mouth,  and  seemed  to  be 
waiting  for  the  travellers  to  come  down  to  him. 

"  What  is  he  going  to  do  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  He  has  got  what  we  call  an  Alpine  horn," 
said  the  guide  ;  "  and  he  is  going  to  blow  it  for 
you,  to  let  you  hear  the  echoes." 

So,  when  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  reached  the 
place,  the  man  blew  into  the  end  of  his  pole, 
which  proved  to  be  hollow,  and  it  produced  a 
very  loud  sound,  like  that  of  a  trumpet.  The 
sounds  were  echoed  against  the  face  of  a  moun 
tain  which  was  opposite  to  the  place  in  a  very 
remarkable  manner.  Mr.  George  paid  the  man 
a  small  sum  of  money,  and  then  they  went 
on. 

Not  long  afterwards  they  came  to  another  hut, 
which  was  situated  opposite  to  a  part  of  the 
mountain  range  where  there  was  a  great  accu 
mulation  of  ice  and  snow,  that  seemed  to  hang 
suspended,  as  it  were,  as  if  just  ready  to  fall.  A 
man  stood  at  the  door  of  this  hut  with  a  small 
iron  cannon,  which  was  mounted  somewhat  rude 
ly  on  a  block  of  wood,  in  his  hand. 


GOING  DOWN  THE  MOUNTAIN.    177 

Trying  to  start  an  avalanche.  Unsuccessful  experiments. 

"What  is  he  going  to  do  with  that  cannon  ?" 
asked  Rollo. 

"  He  is  going  to  fire  it,"  said  Henry,  "  to  start 
down  the  avalanches  from  the  mountain." 

Henry  here  pointed  to  the  face  of  the  moun 
tain  opposite  to  where  they  were  standing,  and 
showed  Rollo  the  immense  masses  of  ice  and 
snow  that  seemed  to  hang  suspended  there,  ready 
to  fall. 

It  is  customary  to  amuse  travellers  in  Switzer 
land  with  the  story  that  the  concussion  produced 
by  the  discharge  of  a  gun  or  a  cannon  will  some 
times  detach  these  masses,  and  thus  hasten  the 
fall  of  an  avalanche  ;  and  though  the  experiment 
is  always  tried  when  travellers  pass  these  places, 
I  never  yet  heard  of  a  case  in  which  the  effect 
was  really  produced.  At  any  rate,  in  this  in 
stance,  —  though  the  man  loaded  his  cannon 
heavily,  and  rammed  the  charge  down  well,  and 
though  the  report  was  very  loud  and  the  echoes 
were  extremely  sharp  and  much  prolonged, — 
there  were  no  avalanches  started  by  the  concus 
sion.  Rollo  and  Mr.  George  watched  the  vast 
snow  banks  that  overhung  the  cliffs  with  great 
interest  for  several  minutes  ;  but  they  all  re 
mained  immovable. 

So  Mr.  George  paid  the  man  a  small  sum  of 
money,  and  then  they  went  on. 


178        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Grindelwald  in  view  again.  Peasants  and  travellers. 

After  going  on  for  an  hour  or  two  longer  on 
this  vast  elevation,  the  path  began  gradually  to 
descend  into  the  valley  of  Grindelwald.  The 
village  of  Grindelwald  at  length  came  into  view, 
with  the  hundreds  of  cottages  and  hamlets  that 
were  scattered  over  the  more  fertile  and  culti 
vated  region  that  surrounded  it.  The  travellers 
could  look  down,  also,  upon  the  great  glaciers 
of  Grindelwald  —  two  mighty  streams  of  ice, 
half  a  mile  wide  and  hundreds  of  feet  deep, 
which  come  flowing  very  slowly  down  from  the 
higher  mountains,  and  terminate  in  icy  preci 
pices  among  the  fields  and  orchards  of  the  val 
ley.*  They  determined  to  go  and  explore  one 
of  these  glaciers  the  next  day. 

As  they  drew  near  to  the  village,  the  people 
of  the  scattered  cottages  came  out  continually, 
as  they  saw  them  coming,  with  various  plans  to 
get  money  from  them.  At  one  place  two  pretty 
little  peasant  girls,  in  the  Grindelwald  costume, 
came  out  with  milk  for  them.  One  of  the  girls 
held  the  pitcher  and  the  other  a  mug  ;  and  they 
gave  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  good  drinks.f  At 
another  house  a  boy  came  out  with  filberts  to 

*  It  may  seem  strange  that  streams  of  ice,  hundreds  of  feet 
thick  and  solid  to  the  bottom,  can  /low ;  but  such  is  the  fact,  as 
will  appear  more  fully  in  the  next  chapter. 

t  See  frontispiece. 


GOING   DOWN  THE  MOUNTAIN.    179 

The  three  Swiss  children  with  little  cottages  for  sale.      Cheap  charity. 

sell  ;  and  at  another  the  merchandise  consisted 
of  crystals  and  other  shining  minerals  which  had 
been  collected  in  the  mountains  near. 

At  one  time  Rollo  saw  before  him  three  chil 
dren  standing  in  a  row  by  the  side  of  the  road. 
They  seemed  to  have  something  in  their  hands. 
When  he  reached  the  place,  he  found  that  they 
had  for  sale  some  very  cunning  little  Swiss  cot 
tages  carved  in  wood.  These  carvings  were  ex 
tremely  small  and  very  pretty.  Each  one  was 
jjiis  ;n  a  small  box  for  safe  transportation.  In 
some  cases  the  children  had  nothing  to  sell,  and 
they  simply  acid  out  their  hands  to  beg  as  the 
travellers  went  by  ;  and  there  were  several  lame 
persons,  and  idiots,  and  blind  persons,  and  other 
objects  of  misery  that  occasionally  appeared  im 
ploring  charity.  As,  however,  these  unfortunates 
were  generally  satisfied  with  an  exceedingly 
small  donation,  it  did  not  cost  much  to  make 
them  all  look  very  happy.  There  is  a  Swiss 
coin,  of  the  value  of  a  fifth  part  of  a  cent,  which 
was  generally  enough  to  give  ;  so  that,  for  a 
New  York  shilling,  Rollo  founu  iio  could  make 
more  than  sixty  donations  —  which  was  certainly 
very  cheap  charity. 

"  In  fact/'  said  Rollo,  "  it  is  so  cheap  that  I 
would  rather  give  them  the  money  than  not." 


180        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  return  to  Grin  del  wald.  The  glaciers 

At  length  the  party  arrived  safely  at  Grin- 
delwald  and  put  up  at  an  excellent  inn,  with 
windows  looking  out  upon  the  glaciers.  The 
next  day  they  went  to  see  the  glaciers  ;  and  on 
the  day  following  they  returned  to  Interlachen, 


GLACIERS.  181 


A  description  of  a  glacier,  or  river  of  ice. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
GLACIERS. 

A  GLACIER,  when  really  understood,  is  one  of 
the  most  astonishing  and  impressive  spectacles 
which  the  whole  face  of  Nature  exhibits.  Mr. 
George  and  Hollo  explored  quite  a  number  of 
them  in  the  course  of  their  travels  in  Switzer 
land  ;  and  Rollo  would  have  liked  to  have  ex 
plored  a  great  many  more. 

A  glacier  is  a  river  of  ice,  —  really  and  truly 
a  river  of  ice, —  sometimes  two  or  three  miles 
wide,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  long,  with 
many  branches  coming  into  it.  Its  bed  is  a 
steep  valley,  commencing  far  up  among  the  moun 
tains  in  a  region  of  everlasting  ice  and  snow, 
and  ending  in  some  warm  and  pleasant  valley 
far  below,  where  the  warm  sun  beats  upon  the 
terminus  of  it  and  melts  the  ice  away  as  fast  as 
it  comes  down.  It  flows  very  slowly,  not  usual 
ly  more  than  an  inch  in  an  hour.  The  warm 
summer  sun  beams  upon  the  upper  surface  of  it, 
melting  it  slowly  away,  and  forming  vast  fissures 


182 


ROLLO   IN   SWITZERLAND. 


Throwing  stones  down  the  fissuiea. 


THE   CREVASSE. 


and  clefts  in  it,  down  which  you  can  look  to  the 
bottom,  if  you  only  have  courage  to  go  near 
enough  to  the  slippery  edge.  If  you  do  not  dare 
to  do  this,  you  can  get  a  large  stone  and  throw 
it  in  ;  and  then,  if  you  stand  still  and  listen,  you 
hear  it  thumping  and  thundering  against  the 
sides  of  the  crevasse  until  it  gets  too  deep  to  be 
any  longer  heard.  You  cannot  hear  it  strike 
the  bottom  ;  for  it  is  sometimes  seven  or  eight 


GLACIERS.  183 


Effect  of  the  melting  of  the  ice.  Where  the  glaciers  come  from. 

hundred  feet  through  the  thickness  of  the  glacier 
to  the  ground  below. 

The  surface  of  the  glacier  above  is  not  smooth 
and  glassy  like  the  ice  of  a  freshly-frozen  river 
or  pond  ;  but  is  white,  like  a  field  of  snow.  This 
appearance  is  produced  in  part  by  the  snow 
which  falls  upon  the  glacier,  and  in  part  by  the 
melting  of  the  surface  of  the  ice  by  the  sun. 
From  this  latter  cause,  too,  the  surface  of  the 
glacier  is  covered,  in  a  summer's  day,  with 
streams  of  water,  which  flow,  like  little  brooks, 
in  long  and  winding  channels  which  they  them 
selves  have  worn,  until  at  length  they  reach  some 
fissure,  or  crevasse,  into  which  they  fall  and  dis 
appear.  The  waters  of  these  brooks  —  many 
thousands  in  all  —  form  a  large  stream,  which 
flows  along  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  under 
the  glacier,  and  comes  out  at  last,  in  a  wild,  and 
roaring,  and  turbid  torrent,  from  an  immense 
archway  in  the  ice  at  the  lower  end,  where  the 
glacier  terminates  among  the  green  fields  and 
blooming  flowers  of  the  lower  valley. 

The  glaciers  are  formed  from  the  avalanches 
which  fall  into  the  upper  valleys  in  cases  where 
the  valleys  are  so  deep  and  narrow  and  so  se 
cluded  from  the  sun  that  the  snows  which  slide 
into  them  cannot  melt.  In  such  case,  the  im 
mense  accumulations  which  gather  there  harden, 


184       HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  wonderful  mcfion  of  the  glaciers.  Proofs. 

and  solidify,  and  become  ice  ;  and,  what  is  very 
astonishing,  the  whole  mass,  solid  as  it  is,  moves 
slowly  onward  down  the  valley,  following  all 
the  turns  and  indentations  of  its  bed,  until  final 
ly  it  comes  down  into  the  warm  regions  of  the 
lower  valleys,  where  the  end  of  it  is  melted 
away  by  the  sun  as  fast  as  the  mass  behind 
crowds  it  forward.  It  is  certainly  very  aston 
ishing  that  a  substance  so  solid  as  ice  can  flow 
in  this  way,  along  a  rocky  and  tortuous  bed,  as 
if  it  were  semi-fluid  ;  and  it  was  a  long  time  be 
fore  men  would  believe  that  such  a  thing  could 
be  possible.  It  was,  however,  at  length  proved 
beyond  all  question  that  this  motion  exists  ;  and 
the  rate  of  it  in  different  glaciers  at  different 
periods  of  the  day  or  of  the  year  has  been  ac 
curately  measured. 

If  you  go  to  the  end  of  the  glacier,  where  it 
comes  out  into  the  lower  valley,  and  look  up  to 
the  icy  cliffs  which  form  the  termination  of  it, 
and  watch  there  for  a  few  minutes,  you  soon  see 
masses  of  ice  breaking  off  from  the  brink  and 
falling  down  with  a  thundering  sound  to  the 
rocks  below.  This  is  because  the  ice  at  the  ex 
tremity  is  all  the  time  pressed  forward  by  the 
mass  behind  it ;  and,  as  it  comes  to  the  brink,  it 
breaks  over  and  falls  down.  This  is  one  evi 
dence  that  the  glaciers  move. 


GLACIERS.  185 


The  marked  rocks.  The  sound  of  the  moving  glaciers. 

But  there  is  another  proof  that  the  ice  of  the 
glaciers  is  continually  moving  onward  which  is 
still  more  direct  and  decisive.  Certain  philoso 
phers,  who  wished  to  ascertain  positively  what 
the  truth  was,  went  to  a  glacier,  and,  selecting  a 
large  rock  which  lay  upon  the  surface  of  it  near 
the  middle  of  the  ice,  they  made  a  red  mark 
with  paint  upon  the  rock,  and  two  other  marks 
on  the  rocks  which  formed  the  shore  of  the  gla 
cier.  They  made  these  three  marks  exactly  in 
a  line  with  each  other,  expecting  that,  if  the 
glacier  moved,  the  rock  in  the  centre  of  it  would 
be  carried  forward,  and  the  three  marks  would 
be  no  longer  in  a  line. 

This  proved  to  be  the  case.  In  a  very  short 
time  the  central  rock  was  found  to  have  moved 
forward  very  perceptibly.  This  was  several 
years  ago.  This  rock  is  still  on  the  glacier; 
and  the  red  mark  on  it,  as  well  as  those  on  the 
shores,  still  remains.  All  the  travellers  who 
visit  the  glacier  look  at  these  marks  and  observe 
how  the  great  rock  on  the  ice  moves  forward. 
It  is  now  at  a  long  distance  below  the  place 
where  it  was  when  its  position  was  first  recorded. 

Then,  besides,  you  can  actually  hear  the  gla 
ciers  moving  when  you  stand  upon  them.  It  is 
sometimes  very  difficult  to  get  upon  them  ;  for 
at  the  sides  where  the  ice  rubs  against  the 


186        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

It  is  difficult  to  get  upon  a  glacier.  Moraines. 

rocks,  immense  chasms  and  fissures  are  formed, 
and  vast  blocks  both  of  rock  and  ice  are  tum 
bled  confusedly  together  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
make  the  way  almost  impracticable.  When, 
however,  you  fairly  get  upon  the  ice,  if  you 
stand  still  a  moment  and  listen,  you  hear  a  pe 
culiar  groaning  sound  in  the  moraines.  To  un 
derstand  this,  however,  I  must  first  explain  what 
a  moraine  is.  On  each  side  of  the  glacier,  quite 
near  the  shore,  there  is  usually  found  a  ridge  of 
rocks  and  stones  extending  up  and  down  the  gla 
cier  for  the  whole  length  of  it,  as  if  an  immense 
wall  formed  of  blocks  of  granite  of  prodigious 
magnitude  had  been  built  by  giants  to  fence  the 
glacier  in,  and  had  afterwards  been  shaken  down 
by  an  earthquake,  so  as  to  leave  only  a  confused 
and  shapeless  ridge  of  rocks  and  stones.  These 
long  lines  of  wall-like  ruins  may  be  traced  along 
the  borders  of  the  glacier  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach.  They  lie  just  on  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and 
follow  all  the  bends  and  sinuosities  of  the  shore. 
It  is  a  mystery  how  they  are  formed.  All  that 
is  known,  or  rather  all  that  can  be  here  ex 
plained,  is,  that  they  are  composed  of  the  rocks 
which  cleave  oif  from  the  sides  of  the  precipices 
and  mountains  that  border  the  glacier,  and  that, 
when  they  have  fallen  down,  the  gradual  move 
ment  of  the  ice  draws  them  out  into  the  long, 


GLACIERS.  187 


The  valley  of  Chamouni.  The  way  to  the  sea  of  ice. 

ridge-like  lines  in  which  they  now  appear.  Some 
of  these  moraines  are  of  colossal  magnitude, 
being  in  several  places  a  hundred  feet  broad 
and  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high ;  and,  as  you  cannot 
get  upon  the  glacier  without  crossing  them,  they 
are  often  greatly  in  the  traveller's  way.  In  fact, 
they  sometimes  form  a  barrier  which  is  all  but 
impassable. 

The  glacier  which  most  impressed  Mr.  George 
and  Rollo  with  its  magnitude  and  grandeur  was 
one  that  is  called  the  Sea  of  Ice.  It  is  called 
by  this  name  on  account  of  its  extent.  Its  lower 
extremity  comes  out  into  the  valley  of  Chamouni, 
the  beautiful  and  world-renowned  valley,  which 
lies  near  the  foot  of  Mont  Blanc.  In  order  to 
reach  this  glacier,  the  young  gentlemen  took 
horses  and  guides  at  the  inn  at  Chamouni,  and 
ascended  for  about  two  hours  by  a  steep,  zigzag 
path,  which  led  from  the  valley  up  the  sides  of 
the  mountain  at  the  place  which  formed  the 
angle  between  the  great  valley  of  Chamouni  and 
the  side  valley  through  which  the  great  glaciei 
came  down.  After  ascending  thus  for  six  or 
eight  miles,  they  came  out  upon  a  lofty  promon 
tory,  from  which,  on  one  side,  they  could  look 
down  upon  the  wild  and  desolate  bed  of  the 
glacier,  and,  upon  the  other,  upon  the  green,  and 
fertile,  and  inexpressibly  beautiful  vale  of  Gha- 


188         ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Montauvert.  The  difficulties  of  descending  to  the  glacier. 

mouni,  with  the  pretty  little  village  in  the  centre 
of  it.  This  place  is  called  Montauvert.  There 
is  a  small  inn  here,  built  expressly  to  accommo 
date  travellers  who  wish  to  come  up  and  go  out 
upon  the  glacier. 

Although  the  traveller,  when  he  reaches  Mon 
tauvert,  can  look  directly  down  upon  the  glacier, 
he  cannot  descend  to  it  there  ;  for,  opposite  to 
the  inn,  the  valley  of  ice  is  bordered  by  cliffs 
and  precipices  a  thousand  feet  high.  It  is  neces 
sary  to  follow  along  the  bank  two  or  three 
miles  among  stupendous  rocks  and  under  tow 
ering  precipices,  until  at  length  a  place  is  reached 
where,  by  dint  of  much  scrambling  and  a  great 
deal  of  help  from  the  guide,  it  is  possible  to 
descend. 

Rollo  was  several  times  quite  afraid  in  making 
this  perilous  excursion.  In  some  places  there 
seemed  to  be  no  path  at  all ;  and  it  was  neces 
sary  for  him  to  make  his  way  by  clinging  to  the 
roughnesses  of  the  rocks  on  the  steep,  sloping 
Bide  of  the  mountain,  with  an  immense  abyss 
yawning  below.  There  was  one  such  place 
where  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  any 
one  not  accustomed  to  mountain  climbing  to 
have  got  along  without  the  assistance  of  guides. 
When  they  reached  this  place,  one  guide  went 
over  first,  and  then  reached  out  his  hand  to  assist 


GLACIERS. 


189 


The  narrow  path 


Climbing  with  a  pike  staff. 


THE   NARROW   PATH 

Rollo.  The  other  scrambled  down  upon  the 
rocks  below,  and  planted  his  pike  staff  in  a 
crevice  of  the  rock  in  order  to  make  a  support 
for  a  foot.  By  this  means,  first  Mr.  George,  and 
then  Rollo,  succeeded  in  getting  safely  over. 

Both  the  travellers  felt  greatly  relieved  when 
they  found  themselves  on  the  other  side  of  this 
dangerous  pass. 

In  coming  back,  however,  Rollo  had  the  mis 
fortune  to  lose  his  pike  staff  here.  The  staff 


190        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  avalanche  of  Hollo's  pike  staff.  Walking  on  the  glacier. 

slipped  out  of  bis  hand  as  he  was  clinging  to 
the  rocks  ;  and,  after  sliding  down  five  or  six 
hundred  feet  to  the  brink  of  the  precipice,  it 
shot  over  and  fell  a  thousand  feet  to  the  glacier 
below,  where  it  entered  some  awful  chasm,  or 
abyss,  and  disappeared  forever. 

Mr.  George  and  Rollo  had  a  pretty  hard  time 
in  scrambling  over  the  moraine  when  they  came 
to  the  place  where  they  were  to  get  upon  the 
glacier.  When  they  were  fairly  upon  the  gla 
cier,  however,  they  could  walk  along  without 
any  difficulty.  It  was  like  walking  on  wet  snow 
in  a  warm  day  in  spring.  Little  brooks  were 
running  in  every  direction,  the  bright  waters 
sparkling  in  the  sun.  The  crevasses  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  travellers  very  strongly. 
They  were  immense  fissures  four  or  five  feet 
wide,  and  extending  downward  perpendicularly 
to  an  unfathomable  depth.  Rollo  and  Mr. 
George  amused  themselves  with  throwing  stones 
down.  There  were  plenty  of  stones  to  be  found 
on  the  glacier.  In  fact,  rocks  and  stones  of 
all  sizes  were  scattered  about  very  profusely, 
so  much  so  as  quite  to  excite  Mr.  George's 
astonishment. 

"  I  supposed,"  said  he,  "  that  the  top  of  the 
glacier  would  be  smooth  and  beautiful  ice." 

"I  did  not  think  any  thing  about  it,"  said 
Rollo. 


GLACIERS.  191 


The  curious  appearance  of  the  rocks  on  the  glacier. 

"  I  imagined  it  to  be  smooth,  and  glassy,  and 
pure/7  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  and,  instead  of  that, 
it  looks  like  a  field  of  old  snow  covered  with 
scattered  rocks  and  stones." 

Some  of  the  rocks  which  lay  upon  the  glacier 
were  very  large,  several  of  them  being  as  big 
as  houses.  It  was  remarkable,  too,  that  the 
largest  of  them,  instead  of  having  settled  down 
in  some  degree  into  the  ice  and  snow,  as  it  might 
have  been  expected  from  their  great  weight 
they  would  have  done,  were  raised  sometimes 
many  feet  above  the  general  level  of  the  glacier, 
'  being  mounted  on  a  sort  of  pedestal  of  ice. 
The  reason  of  this  was,  that  when  the  block  was 
very  large,  so  large  that  the  beams  of  the  sun 
shining  upon  it  all  day  would  not  warm  it 
through,  then  the  ice  beneath  it  would  be  pro 
tected  by  its  coolness,  while  the  surface  of  the 
glacier  around  would  be  gradually  melted  and 
wasted  away  by  the  beams  of  the  sun  or  by  the 
warm  rains  which  might  occasionally  fall  upon 
it.  Thus,  in  process  of  time,  the  great  bowlder 
block  rises,  as  it  were,  many  feet  into  the  air, 
and  remains  there  perched  on  the  top  of  a  little 
hillock  of  ice,  like  a  mass  of  monumental  marble 
on  a  pedestal.* 


*  Any  loose  rock  of  large  size  detached  from  its  native  ledge  o« 
mountain  is  called  a  bowlder. 

13 


192        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  ladder  and  the  rope.  Dangers  and  accidents. 

In  excursions  on  the  glaciers  the  guides  take 
a  rope  with  them,  and  sometimes  a  light  ladder. 
The  rope  is  for  various  purposes.  If  a  traveller 
were  to  fall  into  any  deep  pit,  or  crevasse,  or  to 
slip  down  some  steep  slope  or  precipice,  so  that 
he  could  not  get  up  again,  the  guides  might  let 
the  rope  down  to  him,  and  then  when  he  had 
fastened  it  around  his  waist  they  could  draw 
him  up,  when,  without  some  such  means  of  rescu 
ing  him,  he  would  be  wholly  lost.  In  the  same 
manner,  when  a  party  are  walking  along  any 
very  steep  and  slippery  place,  where  if  any  one 
were  to  fall  he  would  slide  down  into  some 
dreadful  abyss,  it  is  customary  for  them  to  walk 
in  a  line  with  the  rope  in  .their  hands,  each  one 
taking  hold  of  it.  Thus,  if  any  one  should  slip  a 
little,  he  could  recover  himself  by  means  of  the 
rope,  when,  without  such  a  support,  he  would 
perhaps  have  fallen  and  been  dashed  to  pieces. 
Sometimes,  when  the  place  is  very  dangerous 
indeed,  so  that  several  guides  are  required  to 
each  traveller,  they  tie  the  rope  round  the  trav 
eller's  waist,  so  that  he  can  have  his  hands  free 
and  yet  avail  himself  of  the  support  of  the  rope 
in  passing  along. 

The  ladder  is  used  for  scaling  low  precipices, 
either  of  rock  or  ice,  which  sometimes  come  in 
the  way,  and  which  could  not  be  surmounted 


GLACIERS. 


193 


Implements  carried  by  guides  in  ascending  the  Alps. 

without  such  aid.  In  long  and  dangerous  ex 
cursions,  especially  among  the  higher  Alps,  one 
of  the  guides  always  carries  a  ladder  ;  and  there 


ASCENT  OF    MONT  BLANC. 


are  frequent  occasions  where  it  would  not  be 
possible  to  go  on  without  using  it. 


194        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  guide's  hatchet.      Cutting  staircases  in  the  ice.      Slow  travelling. 

A  hatchet,  too,  is  of  great  advantage  in  climb 
ing  among  the  immense  masses  of  ice  which  are 
found  at  great  elevations,  since,  by  means  of 
such  an  implement,  steps  may  be  cut  in  the  ice 
which  will  enable  the  explorer  to  climb  up  an 
ascent  too  long  to  be  reached  by  the  ladder 
and  too  steep  to  be  ascended  without  artificial 
footholds.  In  ascending  Mont  Blanc  the  travel 
ler  sometimes  comes  to  a  precipice  of  ice,  with  a 
chasm  of  immense  depth,  and  four  or  five  feet 
wide,  at  the  bottom  of  it.  In  such  a  case  the 
foot  of  the  ladder  is  planted  on  the  outside  of 
the  chasm,  and  the  top  of  it  is  made  to  rest 
against  the  face  of  the  precipice,  ten  or  fifteen 
*eet  perhaps  from  the  brink.  One  of  the  bold 
est  and  most  skilful  of  the  guides  then  ascends 
the  ladder,  hatchet  in  hand,  and  there,  suspended 
as  he  is  over  the  yawning  gulf  below,  he  begins 
to  cut  steps  in  the  face  of  the  precipice,  shaping 
the  gaps  which  he  makes  in  such  a  manner  that 
he  can  cling  to  them  with  his  hands  as  well  as 
rest  upon  them  with  his  feet.  He  thus  slowly 
ascends  the  barrier,  cutting  his  way  as  he  ad 
vances.  He  carries  the  end  of  the  rope  up  with 
him,  tied  around  his  waist ;  and  then  by  means 
of  it,  when  he  has  reached  the  summit,  he  aids 
the  rest  of  the  party  in  coming  up  to  him. 

Mr.    George    and   Rollo,   however,   did    not 


GLACIEES.  195 


How  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  spent  the  day  on  the  glaciers. 

venture  into  any  such  dangers  as  these.  They 
could  see  all  that  they  desired  of  the  stupendous 
magnificence  and  awful  desolation  of  these  scenes 
without  it.  They  spent  the  whole  of  the  middle 
of  the  day  on  the  glacier  or  on  the  slopes  of  the 
mountains  around  it  ;  and  then  in  the  afternoon 
they  came  down  the  zigzag  path  again  to  Cha- 
mouni,  very  tired  and  very  hungry. 

To  be  tired  and  hungry,  however,  when  you 
come  home  at  night  to  a  Swiss  inn,  is  a  great 
source  of  enjoyment  —  on  account  of  the  admi 
rable  arrangements  for  rest  and  refreshment 
which  you  are  sure  to  find  there. 


196        ROLLO   IN   SWITZERLAND. 

Mr.  George  on  the  balcony.     Tables  on  the  balcony.     Planning  a  journey 


CHAPTER    XII . 
ROLLO   A   C  OUR IER. 

ROLLO  came  in  one  morning  to  the  hotel  at 
Megringen,  after  having  been  taking  a  walk  on 
the  banks  of  a  mighty  torrent  that  flows  through 
the  valley,  and  found  his  uncle  George  studying 
the  guide  book  and  map,  with  an  appearance  of 
perplexity.  Mr.  George  was  seated  at  a  table  on 
a  balcony,  which  opened  from  the  dining  room  of 
the  inn.  This  balcony  was  very  large,  and  rooms 
opened  from  it  in  various  directions.  There  were 
several  tables  here,  with  seats  around  them,  where 
those  who  chose  to  do  so  could  take  their  break 
fast  or  their  dinner  in  the  open  air,  and  enjoy  the 
views  of  the  surrounding  mountains  and  water 
falls  at  the  same  time.  Mr.  George  was  seated 
at  one  of  these  tables,  with  his  map  and  his 
guide  book  before  him. 

"Well,  uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  "are  you 
planning  our  journey  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  George  ;  "  and  I  am  very 
much  perplexed." 


ROLLO   A   COURIER.  197 

Difficulty  in  the  journey.  The  tour  of  Brunig  Pass. 

"  Why,  what  is  the  difficulty  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  There  is  i.o  possibility  of  getting  out  of  this 
valley/7  said  Mr.  George,  "  except  by  going  all 
the  way  back  to  Thim,  —  and  that  I  am  not  will 
ing  to  do." 

"  Is  there  no  possible  way  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  unless  we  go  over 
the  Brunig  Pass  on  foot." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  let  us  do  that." 

''  We  might  possibly  do  that,"  continued  Mr. 
George,  still  looking  intently  at  his  map.  "  We 
should  have  to  go  over  the  Brunig  to  Lungern  on 
foot,  with  a  horse  for  our  baggage.  Then  we 
should  have  to  take  a  car  from  Lungern  down 
the  valleys  to  the  shore  of  Lake  Lucerne,  and 
there  get  a  boat,  for  six  or  eight  miles,  on  the 
lake  to  the  town." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  joyfully,  "  I  should  like 
that." 

Rollo  liked  the  idea  of  making  the  journey  in 
the  way  that  his  uncle  George  had  described,  on 
account  of  the  numerous  changes  which  would  be 
necessary  in  it,  in  respect  to  the  modes  of  con 
veyance.  It  was  for  this  very  reason  that  his 
uncle  did  not  like  it. 

"  Yes,  uncle  George,"  said  Rollo,  again.  "That 
will  be  an  excellent  way  to  go  to  Lucerne.  Don't 
you  think  it  will  ?  " 


198        ROLLO  i  ft   SWITZERLAND. 

Rollo  proposes  to  act  as  courier. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  It  will  be  so  much 
trouble.  We  shall  have  three  different  arrange 
ments  to  make  for  conveyance,  in  one  day." 

"  No  matter  for  that,  uncle  George,"  said 
Rollo.  "I  will  do  all  that.  Let  me  be  the 
courier,  uncle  George,  and  111  take  you  from 
here  to  Lucerne  without  your  having  the  least 
trouble.  I  will  make  all  the  arrangements,  so 
that  you  shall  have  nothing  to  do.  You  may 
read,  if  you  choose,  the  whole  of  the  way." 

"  How  will  you  find  out  what  to  do  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  George. 

"  0,  I'll  study  the  guide  book  carefully,"  re 
plied  Rollo  ;  "  and,  besides,  I'll  inquire  of  the 
landlord  here." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  George,  hesitatingly,  "  I  have 
a  great  mind  to  try  it." 

"  Only  you  must  pay  me,"  said  Rollo.  "  I  can't 
be  courier  without  being  paid." 

"  How  much  must  I  pay  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  Why,  about  a  quarter  of  a  dollar,"  replied 
Rollo. 

"  It  is  worth  more  than  that,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"  I  will  give  you  half  a  dollar  if  you  make  all 
the  arrangements  and  get  me  safe  to  Lucerne 
without  my  having  any  care  or  trouble.  But 
then  if  you  get  into  difficulty  in  any  case,  and 
have  to  appeal  to  me,  you  lose  your  whole  pay. 


ROLLO  A    COURIER.  199 

Conditions.  Rollo  studies  the  map.  View  from  the  balcony. 

If  you  carry  me  through,  I  give  you  half  a  dol 
lar.  If  you  don't  really  carry  me  through,  you 
have  nothing." 

Rollo  agreed  to  these  conditions,  and  Mr. 
George  proceeded  to  shut  up  the  map  and  the 
guide  book,  and  to  put  them  in  his  hands. 

"  I  will  sit  down  here  now,"  said  Rollo,  "  and 
study  the  map  and  the  guide  book  until  I  have 
learned  all  I  can  from  them,  and  then  I  will  go 
and  talk  with  the  landlord." 

Mr.  George  did  not  make  any  reply  to  this 
remark,  but  taking  out  a  small  portfolio,  contain 
ing  writing  materials,  from  his  pocket,  he  set 
himself  at  work  writing  some  letters  ;  having, 
apparently,  dismissed  the  whole  subject  of  the 
mode  of  crossing  the  Brunig  entirely  from  his 
mind. 

Rollo  took  his  seat  at  a  table  on  the  balcony 
in  a  corner  opposite  to  the  place  where  his  uncle 
was  writing,  and  spread  out  the  map  before  him. 
His  seat  commanded  a  very  extended  and  mag 
nificent  view.  In  the  foreground  were  the  green 
fields,  the  gardens,  and  the  orchards  of  the  lower 
valley.  Beyond,  green  pasturages  were  seen  ex 
tending  over  the  lower  declivities  of  the  moun 
tains,  with  hamlets  perched  here  and  there  upon 
the  shelving  rocks,  and  winding  and  zigzag  roads 
ascending  from  one  elevation  to  another,  while 


200        ROLLO   IN   SWITZERLAND. 

Hollo  uses  the  spy  glass.  He  decides  upon  the  route. 

here  and  there  prodigious  cataracts  and  cascades 
were  to  be  seen,  falling  down  hundreds  of  feet, 
over  perpendicular  precipices,  or  issuing  from 
frightful  chasms.  '  Eollo  stopped  occasionally  to 
gaze  upon  these  scenes  ;  and  sometimes  he  would 
pause  to  put  a  spy  glass  to  his  eye,  in  order  to 
watch  the  progress  of  the  parties  of  travellers 
that  were  to  be  seen,  from  time  to  time,  coming 
down  along  a  winding  path  which  descended  the 
face  of  the  mountain  about  two  or  three  miles 
distant,  across  the  valley.  With  the  exception 
of  these  brief  interruptions,  Hollo  continued  very 
steadily  at  his  work  ;  and  in  about  half  an  hour 
he  shut  up  the  map,  and  put  it  in  its  case,  saying, 
in  a  tone  of  great  apparent  satisfaction,  — 
"  There !  I  understand  it  now  perfectly." 
He  was  in  hopes  that  his  uncle  would  have 
asked  him  some  questions  about  the  route,  in 
order  that  he  might  show  how  fully  he  had  made 
himself  acquainted  with  it  ;  but  Mr.  George  said 
nothing,  and  so  Rollo  went  away  to  find  the 
landlord. 

That  night,  just  before  bed  time,  Mr.  George 
asked  Rollo  what  time  he  was  going  to  set  out 
the  next  morning. 

"  Immediately  after  breakfast,"  said  Rollo. 

"  Are  we  going  to  ride  or  walk?  "  asked  Mr. 
George. 


ROLI  o   A    COURIER.  201 

Mr.  George  leaves  the  care  of  arrangements  to  Rollo. 

"  We  are  going  to  walk  over  the  pass,"  said 
Rollo.  "  The  road  is  too  steep  and  rocky  for 
horses.  But  then  we  are  going  to  have  a  horse 
to  carry  the  trunk." 

"  Can  you  put  our  trunk  on  a  horse  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  George. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Rollo,  "  the  guide  says  he  can." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  and  just  as 
soon  as  we  get  through  breakfast  I  am  going  to 
walk  on,  and  leave  you  to  pack  the  trunk  on  the 
horse,  and  come  along  when  you  are  ready." 

"  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  you  can  do  that." 

"  Because,  you  see,"  continued  Mr.  George, 
"  you  will  probably  have  various  difficulties  and 
delays  in  getting  packed  and  ready,  and  I  don't 
want  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  it.  I  wish  to 
have  my  mind  entirely  free,  so  as  to  enjoy  the 
walk  and  the  scenery  without  any  care  or  respon 
sibility  whatever." 

Sometimes,  when  fathers  or  uncles  employ  boys 
to  do  any  work,  or  to  assume  any  charge,  they 
stand  by  and  help  them  all  the  time,  so  that  the 
real  labor  and  responsibility  do  not  come  on  the 
boy  after  all.  He  gets  paid  for  the  work,  and 
he  imagines  that  he  does  it — his  father  or  his 
uncle  allowing  him  to  imagine  so,  for  the  sake  of 
pleasing  him.  But  there  was  no  such  child's  play 
as  this  between  Mr.  George  and  Rollo.  When 


202        ROLLO  IN   SWITZERLAND. 

The  plan  pleases  Hollo.  The  duties  of  a  courier. 

Rollo  proposed  to  undertake  any  duty,  Mr.  George 
always  considered  well,  in  the  first  instance, 
whether  it  was  a  duty  that  he  was  really  compe 
tent  to  perform.  If  it  was  not,  he  would  not 
allow  him  to  undertake  it.  If  it  was,  he  left 
him  to  bear  the  whole  burden  and  responsibility 
of  it,  entirely  alone. 

Rollo  understood  this  perfectly  well,  and  he 
liked  such  a  mode  of  management.  He  was, 
accordingly,  not  at  all  surprised  to  hear  his  uncle 
George  propose  to  leave  him  to  make  all  the 
arrangements  of  the  journey  alone. 

"  You  see,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  when  I  hire  a 
courier  I  expect  him  to  take  all  the  care  of  the 
journey  entirely  off  my  mind,  and  leave  me  to 
myself,  so  that  I  can  have  a  real  good  time." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  that  is  right." 

And  here,  perhaps,  I  ought  to  explain  thai 
what  is  called  a  courier,  in  the  vocabulary  of 
tourists  in  Europe,  is  a  travelling  servant,  who, 
when  he  is  employed  by  any  party,  takes  the 
whole  charge  of  their  affairs,  and  makes  all  ne 
cessary  arrangements,  so  that  they  can  travel 
without  any  care  or  concern.  He  engages  the 
conveyances  and  guides,  selects  the  inns,  pays  the 
bills,  takes  charge  of  the  baggage,  and  does 
every  thing,  in  short,  that  is  necessary  to  secure 
the  comfort  and  safety  of  the  party  on  their 


ROLLO  A  COURIER.  203 

Mr.  George  leaves  Rollo.  The  guide  brings  the  horse. 

journey,  and  to  protect  them  from  every  species 
of  trouble  and  annoyance.  He  has  himself  often 
before  travelled  over  the  countries  through  which 
he  is  to  conduct  his  party,  so  that  he  is  perfectly 
familiar  with  them  in  every  part,  and  he  knows 
all  the  languages  that  it  is  necessary  to  speak  in 
them  Thus  when  once  under  the  charge  of 
such  a  guide,  a  gentleman  journeying  in  Europe, 
even  if  he  has  his  whole  family  with  him,  need 
have  no  care  or  concern,  but  may  be  as  quiet  and 
as  much  at  his  ease,  all  the  time,  as  if  he  were 
riding  about  his  own  native  town  in  his  pri 
vate  carriage. 

The  next  morning,  after  breakfast,  Mr.  Georgo 
rose  from  the  table,  and  prepared  to  set  out  on 
his  journey.  He  put  the  belt  of  his  knapsack 
over  his  shoulder,  and  took  his  alpenstock  in  his 
hand. 

"  Good  by,  Rollo,"  said  he.  "  I  willwalk  on, 
taking  the  road  to  the  Brunig,  and  you  can  come 
when  you  get  ready.  You  will  overtake  me  in 
the  course  of  half  an  hour,  or  an  hour." 

Rollo  accompanied  Mr.  George  to  the  door, 
and  then  wishing  him  a  pleasant  walk,  bade  him 
good  by. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  guide  came  around  the 
corner  of  the  house,  from  the  inn  yard,  leading 
the  horse.  He  stopped  to  water  the  horse  at  a 


204        HOLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  pack  saddle.  Leaving  the  inn. 

fountain  in  the  street,  and  then  led  him  to  the 
door.  In  the  mean  time  the  porter  of  the  inn 
had  brought  down  the  trunk,  and  then  the  guide 
proceeded  to  fasten  it  upon  the  saddle  of  the 
horse,  by  meai  s  of  two  strong  straps.  The  sad 
dle  was  what  is  called  a  pack  saddle,  and  was 
made  expressly  to  receive  such  burdens. 

After  having  placed  the  trunk  and  secured  it 
firmly,  the  guide  put  on  the  umbrella,  and  Mr. 
George's  and  Hollo's  great-coats,  and  also  Hol- 
lo's  knapsack.  These  things  made  quite  a  pile 
on  the  horse's  back.  The  burden  was  increased, 
too,  by  several  things  belonging  to  the  guide 
himself,  which  he  put  on  over  all  the  rest,  such  as 
a  great-coat  and  a  little  bag  of  provisions. 

At  length,  when  all  was  ready,  Hollo  bade  the 
innkeeper  good  by,  and  set  out  on  his  journey. 
The  guide  went  first,  driving  the  horse  before 
him,  and  Hollo  followed,  with  his  alpenstock  in 
his  hand. 

They  soon  passed  out  of  the  village,  and  then 
travelled  along  a  very  pleasant  road,  which 
skirted  the  foot  of  the  mountain  range,  —  all  the 
time  gradually  ascending.  Eollo  looked  out 
frell  before  him,  whenever  he  came  to  a  straight 
part  of  the  road,  in  hopes  of  seeing  his  uncle ; 
but  Mr.  George  was  nowhere  in  view. 

Presently  he  came  to  a  place  where  there  was 


ROLLO   A    COURIER.  205 

EoIIo  overtakes  Mr.  George.  The  path.  The  two  girla. 

a  gate,  and  a  branch  path,  turning  off  from  the 
main  road,  directly  towards  the  mountain.  Here 
Rollo,  quite  to  his  relief  and  gratification,  found 
his  uncle.  Mr.  George  was  sitting  on  a  stone  by 
the  side  of  the  road,  reading. 

He  shut  his  book  when  he  saw  Rollo  and  the 
guide,  and  put  it  away  in  his  knapsack.  At  the 
same  time  he  rose  from  his  seat,  saying,  — 

"  Well,  Rollo,  which  is  the  way  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Rollo. 

The  guide,  however,  settled  the  question  by 
taking  hold  of  the  horse's  bridle,  and  leading 
him  off  into  the  side  path.  The  two  travellers 
followed  him. 

The  path  led  through  a  very  romantic  and 
beautiful  scene  of  fields,  gardens,  and  groves, 
among  the  trees  of  which  were  here  and  there 
seen  glimpses  of  magnificent  precipices  and  moun 
tains  rising  very  near,  a  little  beyond  them. 
After  following  this  path  a  few  steps,  two  girls 
came  running  out  from  a  cottage.  One  of  them 
had  a  board  under  her  arm.  The  other  had 
nothing.  They  both  glanced  at  the  travellers,  as 
they  passed,  and  then  ran  forward  along  the 
road  before  them.  . 

"  What  do  you  suppose  those  girls  are  going 
to  do  ?  "  asked  Rollo. 

"  I  can't  conceive,"  replied  Mr.  George.  "  Some 
thing  for  us  to  pay  for,  I'll  engage." 


206        ROLLO  IN   SWITZERLAND. 

Bridges  made  by  the  girls. 

"  And  shall  you  pay  them  ?  "  asked  Hollo. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  shall  not  pay 
them.  I  shall  leave  all  such  business  to  my 
courier." 

The  purpose  with  which  the  two  girls  had 
come  out  was  soon  made  to  appear ;  for  after 
running  along  before  the  party  of  travellers  for 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  they  came  to  a  place 
where  two  shallow  but  rather  broad  brooks 
flowed  across  the  pathway.  When  Rollo  and 
Mr.  George  came  up  to  the  place  they  found  that 
the  girls  had  placed  boards  over  these  streams 
of  water  for  bridges.  One  of  the  boards  was 
the  one  which  the  girl  had  brought  along  with 
her,  under  her  arm.  The  other  girl,  it  seems, 
kept  her  board  under  the  bushes  near  the  place, 
because  it  was  too  heavy  to  carry  back  and  forth 
to  the  house.  It  was  their  custom  to  watch  for 
travellers  coming  along  the  path,  and  then  to  run 
on  before  them  and  lay  these  bridges  over  the 
brooks,  —  expecting,  of  course,  to  be  paid  for  it. 
Hollo  gave  them  each  a  small  piece  of  money, 
and  then  he  and  Mr.  George  went  on. 

Soon  the  road  began  to  ascend  the  side  of  the 
mountain  in  long  zigzags  and  windings.  These 
windings  presented  new  views  of  the  valley  be 
low  at  every  turn,  each  successive  picture  being 
more  extended  and  grand  than  the  preceding. 


ROLLO   A   COURIER.'  207 

Stopping  to  rest.  Rollo  plans  the  tour. 

At  length,  after  ascending  some  thousands  of 
feet,  the  party  came  to  a  resting-place,  consisting 
of  a  seat  in  a  sort  of  bower,  which  had  been 
built  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers,  at  a 
turn  of  the  road  where  there  was  an  uncom 
monly  magnificent  view.  Here  they  stopped  to 
rest,  while  the  guide,  leading  the  horse  to  a 
spring  at  the  road  side,  in  order  that  he  might 
have  a  drink,  sat  down  himself  on  a  flat  stone 
beside  him. 

"  How  far  is  it  that  we  have  got  to  walk  ?  " 
asked  Mr.  George. 

Rollo  looked  at  his  watch,  and  then  said,  "  We 
have  got  to  walk  about  three  hours  more." 

"  And  what  shall  we  come  to  then  ?  "  asked 
Mr.  George. 

"  We  shall  come  down  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain,"  said  Rollo,  "  to  a  little  village  called 
Lungern,  where  there  is  a  good  road  ;  and  there 
I  am  going  to  hire  a  carriage,  and  a  man  to  drive 
us  to  the  lake.  It  is  a  beautiful  country  that  we 
are  going  through,  and  the  road  leads  along  the 
shores  of  mountain  lakes.  The  first  lake  is  up 
very  high  among  the  mountains.  The  next  is  a 
great  deal  lower  down,  and  we  have  to  go  down 
a  long  way  by  a  zigzag  road,  till  we  get  to  it. 
Then  we  go  along  the  shore  of  this  second  lake, 
through  several  towns,  and  at  last  we  come  to 
14 


208        ROLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Ascending  the  mountain.  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  arrive  at  the  inn. 

the  landing  on  the  Lake  of  Lucerne.  There  I 
shall  hire  a  boat." 

"  What  kind  of  a  boat  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  I  don't  know/'  said  Rollo. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  there  will  be  any 
boat  there  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  Because  the  guide  book  says  there  will,"  re 
plied  Rollo.  "  They  always  have  boats  there  to 
take  people  that  come  along  this  road  to  Lu 
cerne." 

"  Why  do  they  not  go  all  the  way  by  land  ?  '' 
asked  Mr.  George. 

"  Because,"  said  Rollo,  "  the  whole  country 
there  is  so  full  of  mountains  that  there  is  no 
place  for  a  road." 

Just  at  this  time  the  guide  got  up  from  his 
seat,  and  seemed  ready  to  set  out  upon  his  jour 
ney  ;  and  so  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  rose  and 
went  on. 

After  ascending  about  an  hour  more,  through 
a  series  of  very  wild  and  romantic  glens,  with 
cottages  and  curious-looking  chalets  scattered 
here  and  there  along  the  borders  of  them,  wher 
ever  the  ground  was  smooth  and  green  enough 
for  cattle  to  feed,  our  travellers  came,  at  length, 
to  the  summit  of  the  pass,  where,  in  a  very  pleas 
ant  and  sheltered  spot,  surrounded  with  forest 
trees,  there  stood  a  little  inn.  On  arriving  a* 


ROLLO  A   COURIER.         .     209 

The  guide  carries  the  baggage  on  his  back. 

this  place  the  guide  proceeded  to  take  off  the 
load  from  the  horse  and  to  place  it  upon  a  sort 
of  frame,  such  as  is  used  in  those  countries  for 
burdens  which  are  to  be  carried  on  the  back  of  a 
man. 

"  What  is  he  going  to  do  ?  "  asked  Mr.  George. 

"  He  is  going  to  carry  the  baggage  the  rest  of 
the  way  himself,"  said  Eollo.  "  You  see  it  is  so 
steep  and  rocky  from  here  down  to  Lungern  that 
it  is  dreadful  hard  work  to  get  a  horse  down  and 
up  again  ;  especially  up.  So  the  guide  leaves 
the  horse  here,  and  is  going  to  carry  the  bag 
gage  down  himself  on  his  back.  That  rack  that 
he  is  fastening  the  trunk  upon  goes  on  his  back. 
Those  straps  in  front  of  it  come  over  his  shoul 
ders." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  Mr.  George,  "  that  that 
is  a  monstrous  heavy  load  to  put  on  a  man's 
back,  to  go  down  a  place  which  is  so  steep  and 
rocky  that  a  horse  could  not  get  along  over  it. 
But  then  I  suppose  my  courier  knows  what  he  is 
about." 

So  Mr.  George,  with  an  air  and  manner  which 
seemed  to  say,  It  is  none  of  my  concern,  walked 
up  a  flight  of  steps  which  led  to  a  sort  of  ele 
vated  porch  or  platform  before  the  door  of  the 
inn. 

For  a  moment  Bollo  himself  was  a  little  dis- 


210       ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Eollo  disconcerted.  Refreshments.  Carved  work. 

concerted,  not  knowing  whether  it  would  be  safe 
for  a  man  to  go  down  a  steep  declivity  with  such 
a  burden  on  his  back  ;  but  when  he  reflected  that 
this  was  the  arrangement  that  the  guide  himself 
had  proposed,  and  that  the  guide  had,  doubtless, 
done  the  same  thing  a  hundred  times  before,  he 
ceased  to  feel  any  uneasiness,  and  following  Mr. 
George  up  the  steps,  he  took  a  seat  by  his  side, 
at  a  little  table,  which  was  placed  there  for  the 
accommodation  of  travellers  stopping  at  the  inn 
to  rest. 

Rollo  and  his  uncle  spent  half  an  hour  at  this 
hotel.  For  refreshment  they  had  some  very  ex 
cellent  and  rich  Alpine  milk,  which  they  drank 
from  very  tall  and  curiously-shaped  tumblers. 
They  also  amused  themselves  in  looking  at  some 
specimens  of  carved  work,  such  as  models  of 
Swiss  cottages  —  and  figures  of  shepherds,  and 
milkmaids  with  loads  of  utensils  on  their  backs 
—  and  groups  of  huntsmen,  with  dogs  leaping 
up  around  them  —  and  chamois,  or  goats,  climb 
ing  about  among  the  rocks  and  mountains.  Rollo 
had  bought  a  pretty  good  supply  of  such  sculp 
tures  before  ;  but  there  was  one  specimen  here 
that  struck  his  fancy  so  much  that  he  could  not 
resist  the  temptation  of  adding  it  to  his  collec 
tion,  especially  as  Mr.  George  approved  of  his 
making  the  purchase.  It  was  a  model  of  what 


ROLLO    A     COURIER.  211 

The  little  chalet.  The  rocky  pathway. 

is  called  a  chalet,*  which  is  a  sort  of  hut  that 
the  shepherds  occupy  in  the  upper  pasturages,  in 
the  summer,  where  they  go  to  tend  the  cows,  and 
to  make  butter  and  cheese.  The  little  chalet  was 
made  in  such  a  manner  that  the  roof  would  lift 
up  like  a  lid,  and  let  you  see  all  there  was  with 
in.  There  was  a  row  of  cows,  with  little  calves 
by  them,  in  stalls  on  one  side  of  the  chalet,  and 
on  the  other  side  tables  and  benches,  with  pans 
of  milk  and  tubs  upon  them,  and  a  churn,  and  a 
cheese  press,  and  other  such  like  things.  There 
was  a  bed,  too,  for  the  shepherd,  in  a  sort  of 
a  garret  above,  just  big  enough  to  hold  it. 

In  about  half  an  hour  the  guide  seemed  ready 
to  proceed,  and  the  whole  party  set  out  again  on 
their  journey.  The  guide  went  before,  with  the 
trunk  and  all  the  other  baggage  piled  up  on  the 
rack  behind  him.  He  had  a  stout  staff  in  his 
hand,  which  he  used  to  prevent  himself  from  fall 
ing,  in  going  down  the  steep  and  rocky  places. 
Some  of  these  places  were  very  steep  and  rocky 
indeed  —  so  much  so  that  going  down  them  was 
a  work  of  climbing  rather  than  walking,  and 
Rollo  himself  was  sometimes  almost  afraid.  What 
made  these  places  the  more  frightful  was,  that  the 
path  in  descending  them  was  often  exceedingly 
narrow,  and  was  bordered,  on  one  side,  by  a  per- 

*  Pronounced  shattay. 


212       ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  valley.  The  chapel.  The  lame  traveller. 

pendicular  wall  of  rock,  and  by  an  unfathomable 
abyss  of  rocks  and  roaring  cataracts  on  the 
other.  To  behold  the  skill  and  dexterity  with 
which  the  guide  let  himself  down,  from  rock  to 
rock,  in  this  dreadful  defile,  loaded  as  he  was, 
excited  both  in  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  a  con 
tinual  sentiment  of  wonder. 

At  length  the  steepest  part  of  the  descent  was 
accomplished,  and  then  the  road  led,  for  a  mile, 
through  a  green  and  pretty  valley,  with  lofty 
rocks  and  mountains  on  either  hand,  and  chalets 
and  pretty  cottages  at  various  distances  along 
the  roadside.  At  one  place,  in  a  very  romantic 
and  delightful  spot,  they  came  to  a  small  chapel. 
It  had  been  built  there  to  commemorate  some 
remarkable  event,  and  to  afford  a  resting-place 
for  travellers.  The  door  of  this  chapel  was  fas 
tened,  but  Rollo  could  look  in  through  a  window 
and  see  the  altar,  and  the  crucifix,  and  the  tall 
candles,  within.  He  and  Mr.  George  sat  down, 
too,  on  the  stone  step  of  the  chapel  for  a  little 
while,  to  rest,  and  to  enjoy  the  view.  While 
they  were  there  another  traveller  came  by,  as 
cending  from  Lungern,  and  he  stopped  to  rest 
there  too.  He  was  lame,  and  seemed  to  be  poor. 
He  had  a  pack  on  his  back.  Mr.  George  talked 
with  this  man  in  French  while  they  sat  together 
on  the  steps  of  the  chapel,  and  when  he  went 
away  Mr.  George  gave  him  a  little  monev. 


HOLLO   A   COURIER.  213 

Village  of  Lungern.  Rollo  and  Mr.  George  stop  at  the  inn. 

After  leaving  the  chapel  the  travellers  con 
tinued  their  descent,  the  valley  opening  before 
them  more  and  more  as  they  proceeded,  until,  at 
length,  the  village  of  Lungern  came  in  sight,  far 
below  them,  at  the  head  of  a  little  lake. 

"  There  !  "  said  Rollo,  as  soon  as  the  village 
came  in  sight.  "  That  is  Lungern.  That  is  the 
place  where  the  carriage  road  begins." 

"  I  am  glad  of  that,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  A 
ride. in  a  carriage  will  be  very  pleasant  after  all 
this  scrambling  over  the  mountains  —  that  is, 
provided  you  get  a  good  carriage." 

When,  at  length,  the  party  reached  the  inn, 
the  guide  set  down  his  load  on  a  bench  at  the 
door  of  it,  and,  smiling,  seemed  quite  pleased  to 
be  rid  of  the  heavy  burden. 

"  Are  we  going  to  take  dinner  here  ? "  said 
Mr.  George  to  Rollo. 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Rollo.  "  At  least,  I  don't 
know.  We'll  see." 

The  landlord  of  the  inn  met  the  travellers  at 
the  door,  and  conducted  them  up  a  flight  of  stone 
stairs,  and  thence  into  a  room  where  several 
tables  were  set,  and  different  parties  of  travellers 
were  taking  refreshments.  The  landlord,  after 
showing  them  into  this  room,  went  down  stairs 
again  to  attend  to  other  travellers.  Mr.  George 
and  Rollo  walked  into  the  room.  After  looking 


214        ROLLO   IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Rollo  engages  a  carriage.  The  refreshments. 

about  the  room  a  moment,  howe~rer,  Rollo  said 
he  must  go  down  and  see  about  a  carriage. 

"  Wait  here  a  few  minutes,  uncle  George," 
said  he,  "  while  I  go  and  engage  a  carriage,  and 
then  I  will  come  back." 

So  saying,  Rollo  went  away,  and  Mr.  Georgo 
took  his  seat  by  a  window. 

Presently  the  waiter  came  to  Mr.  George,  and 
asked  him,  in  French,  if  he  wished  for  any  re 
freshment. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  I  will 
wait  till  the  boy  comes  back,  and  then  we'll  see." 

In  a  short  time  Rollo  came  back. 

"  The  carriage  will  be  ready  in  twenty  min 
utes,"  said  he. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Mr.  George.  "  And  the 
waiter  wants  to  know  whether  we  are  going  to 
have  any  thing  to  eat." 

"  Yes,"  said  Rollo,  "  we  are  going  to  have  a 
luncheon." 

Rollo  then  went  to  the  waiter,  and  said,  in 
French,  "  Bread,  butter,  coffee,  and  strawberries, 
for  two."  "  Very  well,  sir,"  said  the  waiter,  and 
he  immediately  went  away  to  prepare  what 
Rollo  had  ordered. 

In  due  time  the  refreshment  was  ready,  and 
Mr.  George  and  Rollo  sat  down  to  the  table, 
with  great  appetites.  Every  thing  was  very  nice. 


ROLLO  A  COURIER.  215 

Strawberries.  The  chaise.  The  scenery. 

The  strawberries,  in  particular,  though  very 
small  in  size,  as  the  Alpine  strawberries  always 
are,  were  very  abundant  in  quantity,  and  deli 
cious  in  flavor.  There  was  also  plenty  of  rich 
cream  to  eat  them  with.  When,  at  length,  the 
travellers  had  finished  eating  their  luncheon,  tho 
landlord  came  to  say  that  the  carriage  was 
ready.  So  Rollo  paid  the  bill,  and  then  he  and 
Mr.  George  went  down  to  the  door.  Here  they 
found  a  very  pretty  chaise,  with  a  seat  in  front 
for  the  driver,  all  ready  for  them.  The  trunk 
and  all  the  other  baggage  were  strapped  securely 
on  behind.  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  got  in.  The 
top  of  the  chaise  was  down,  so  that  the  view 
was  unobstructed  on  every  side. 

11  Well,"  said  Rollo,  "  do  you  think  it  is  a 
good  carriage  ?  " 

"  A  most  excellent  one,"  said  Mr.  George. 
"  We  shall  have  a  delightful  ride,  I  am  sure." 

Mr.  George  was  not  disappointed  in  his  an 
ticipations  of  a  delightful  ride.  The  day  was 
very  pleasant,  and  the  scenery  of  the  country 
through  which  they  had  to  pass  was  as  roman 
tic  and  beautiful  as  could  be  imagined.  The 
road  descended  rapidly,  from  valley  to  valley, 
sometimes  by  sharp  zigzags,  and  sometimes  by 
long  and  graceful  meanderings,  presenting  at 
every  turn  some  new  and  charming  view.  There 


216        ROLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Lake  of  Lucerne.  Alpnach.  Rollo  pays  the  driver. 

were  green  valleys,  and  shady  dells,  and  foaming 
cascades,  and  dense  forests,  and  glassy  lakes,  and 
towering  above  the  whole,  on  either  side,  were 
vast  mountain  slopes,  covered  with  forests,  and 
ranges  of  precipitous  rocks,  their  summits  shoot 
ing  upward,  in  pinnacles,  to  the  very  clouds. 

After  journeying  on  in  this  manner  for  some 
hours  the  carriage  arrived  at  an  inn  on  the 
shores  of  the  Lake  of  Lucerne.  There  was  a 
landing  there,  and  a  number  of  boats,  drawn  up 
near  a  little  pier. 

"Yes,"  exclaimed  Rollo,  when  he  saw  the 
boats,  "  this  is  the  place.  The  name  of  it  is  Alp 
nach.  We  are  to  go  the  rest  of  the  way  by 
water." 

"  That  will  be  very  pleasant,"  said  Mr.  George. 
fts  he  got  out  of  the  carriage.  "  I  shall  like  a 
row  on  the  lake  very  much.  I  will  go  directly 
down  to  the  landing,  and  you  can  come  when 
yo-u  get  ready." 

So  Mr.  George  walked  on  down  to  the  pier, 
leaving  Rollo  to  perform  his  duties  as  a  courier, 
according  to  his  own  discretion. 

Rollo  first  paid  the  driver  of  the  carriage  what 
was  due  to  him,  according  to  the  agreement  that 
he  had  made  with  the  Lungern  landlord,  and 
then  explained  to  the  Alpnach  landlord,  in  ag 
good  French  as  he  could  command,  that  he  wanted 


ROLLO  A   COURIER.  217 

H«  engages  a  boat.  The  two  girls.  The  day. 

a  boat,  to  take  him  and  the  gentleman  who  was 
travelling  with  him  to  Lucerne,  and  asked  what 
the  price  would  be.  The  landlord  named  the 
regular  price,  and  Hollo  engaged  the  boat.  The 
landlord  then  sent  for  a  boatman.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  boatman  was  seen  coming.  He  was 
followed  by  two  rather  pretty-looking  peasant 
girls,  each  bringing  an  oar  on  her  shoulder. 
These  two  girls  were  the  boatman's  daughters. 
They  were  going  with  their  father  in  the  boat,  to 
help  him  row. 

The  boatman  took  up  the  trunk,  and  the  girls 
the  other  parcels  of  baggage,  and  so  carried  the 
whole,  together  with  the  oars,  down  to  the  boat. 
Hollo  followed  them,  and  the  whole  party  imme 
diately  embarked.  It  was  a  bright  and  sunny 
day,  though  there  were  some  dark  and  heavy 
clouds  in  the  western  sky.  The  water  of  the 
lake  was  very  smooth,  and  it  reflected  the  moun 
tains  and  the  skies  in  a  very  beautiful  manner. 
Mr.  George  and  Rollo  took  their  seats  in  the 
boat,  under  an  awning  that  was  spread  over  a 
frame  in  the  central  portion  of  it.  This  awning 
sheltered  them  from  the  sun,  while  it  did  not  in 
tercept  their  view.  The  man  and  the  girls  took 
each  of  them  an  oar,  standing  up,  however,  to 
row,  and  pushing  the  oar  before  them,  instead  of 


218        HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

The  boatman's  daughters.  Watching  the  clouds. 

pulling  it,  according  to  our  fashion.*     Thus  they 
commenced  the  voyage. 

Every  thing  went  on  very  pleasanly  for  an 
hour,  only,  as  the  boatman  and  his  daughters 
could  speak  no  language  but  German,  Mr.  George 
and  Rollo  could  have  no  conversation  with  them. 
But  they  could  talk  with  each  other,  and  they 
had  a  very  pleasant  time.  At  length,  however, 
the  clouds  which  had  appeared  in  the  western 
sky  rose  higher  and  higher,  and  grew  blacker 
and  blacker,  and,  finally,  low,  rumbling  peals  of 
thunder  began  to  be  heard.  The  boatman  talked 
with  his  daughters,  pointing  to  the  clouds,  and 
then  said  something  to  Mr.  George  in  German  ; 
but  neither  Mr.  George  nor  Rollo  could  under 
stand  it.  They  soon  found,  however,  that  the 
boat  was  turned  towards  the  shore.  They  were 
very  glad  of  this,  for  Rollo  said  that  he  had 
read  in  the  guide  book  that  the  Swiss  lakes  were 
subject  to  very  violent  tempests,  such  as  it  would 
be  quite  dangerous  to  encounter  far  from  the 
shore.  Rollo  said,  moreover,  that  the  boatmen 
were  very  vigilant  in  watching  for  the  approach 
of  these  storms,  and  that  they  would  always  at 
once  make  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  land 
whenever  they  saw  one  coming  on. 

*  The  Swiss  always  stand  up  in  rowing,  and  push  the  oar. 
Thus  they  look  the  way  they  are  going. 


ROLLO    A    COURIER.  219 

The  rain.  The  inn.  Arrival  at  Lucerne. 

In  this  instance  the  wind  began  to  blow,  and 
the  rain  to  fall,  before  the  boat  reached  the 
shore.  Hollo  and  Mr.  George  were  sheltered  by 
the  awning,  but  the  boatman  and  the  two  girls 
got  very  wet.  They,  however,  continued  to  work 
hard  at  tho  oars,  and  at  length  they  reached  the 
shore.  The  place  where  they  landed  was  in  a  cove 
formed  by  a  point  of  land,  where  there  was  a  lit 
tle  inn  near  the  water.  As  soon  as  the  boat 
reached  the  shore  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  leaped 
out  'of  it,  and  spreading  their  umbrella  they  ran 
up  to  the  inn. 

They  waited  here  nearly  an  hour.  They  sat 
on  a  piazza  in  front  of  the  inn,  listening  to  the 
sound  of  the  thunder  and  of  the  wind,  and 
watching  the  drops  of  rain  falling  on  the  water. 
At  length  the  wind  subsided,  the  rain  gradually 
ceased,  and  the  sun  came  out  bright  and  beaming 
as  ever.  The  party  then  got  into  the  boat,  and 
the  boatman  pushed  off  from  the  shore  ;  and  in 
an  hour  more  they  all  landed  safely  on  the  quay 
at  Lucerne,  very  near  to  a  magnificent  hotel. 

Our  two  travellers  were  soon  comfortably 
seated  at  a  table  in  the  dining  room  of  the  hotel, 
before  an  excellent  dinner,  which  Rollo  had  or 
dered.  Mr.  George  told  Rollo,  as  they  took 
their  seats  at  the  table,  that  he  had  performed 
his  duty  as  a  courier  in  a  very  satisfactory  man 
lier,  and  had  fully  earned  his  pay. 


220       HOLLO  IN  SWITZERLAND. 

Conclusion.  Hollo's  enjoyment 


CHAPTER   XIII. 
CONCLUSION. 

IT  is  not  possible  to  describe  in  such  a  volume 
as  this  more  than  a  small  part  of  the  excursions 
which  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  made  or  the  ad 
ventures  which  they  met  with  in  the  course  of 
their  tour  in  Switzerland.  They  remained  in 
the  country  of  the  Alps  more  than  a  fortnight ; 
and  they  enjoyed,  as  Rollo  said,  every  moment 
of  the  time.  There  was  no  end  to  the  cascades 
and  waterfalls,  the  ice  and  snow-clad  summits, 
the  glaciers,  the  romantic  zigzag  paths  up  the 
mountain  sides,  the  picturesque  hamlets  and  cot 
tages,  and  the  groups  of  peasants  toiling  in  the 
fields  or  tending  flocks  and  herds  in  the  higher 
pasturages.  Rollo's  heart  was  tilled  all  the  time 
that  he  remained  among  these  scenes  with  never- 
ceasing  wonder  and  delight.  The  inns  pleased 
him,  too,  as  much  perhaps  as  any  thing  else  ;  for 
the  climbing  of  mountains  arid  the  long  excur 
sions  on  foot  gave  him  a  most  excellent  appe 
tite  ;  and  at  the  inns  they  always  found  such 


CONCLUSION.  221 

Economy  of  the  trip.  The  Rhine. 

nice  breakfasts,  dinners,  and  suppers  every  day 
that  Rollo  was  never  tired  of  praising  them. 

Rollo  found  the  cost,  too,  of  travelling  in  Swit 
zerland  much  less  than  he  had  expected.  He  did 
not  expend  nearly  all  the  allowance  which  his 
father  had  granted  him.  When  he  came  to 
settle  up  his  accounts,  after  he  had  got  back  to 
Paris,  he  found  that  he  had  saved  about  seventy- 
five  francs,  which  made  nearly  fifteen  dollars  ; 
and  this  sum  he  accordingly  added  to  his  capital 
—  for  that  was  the  name  by  which  he  was  accus 
tomed  to  designate  the  stock  of  funds  which  he 
had  gradually  accumulated  and  reserved. 

Just  before  Mr.  George  and  Rollo  left  Swit 
zerland,  on  their  return  to  Paris,  they  received 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Holiday,  who  was  still  in  Paris, 
in  consequence  of  which  they  concluded  to  make 
a  short  tour  on  the  Rhine  on  their  way  to  France. 
The  adventures  which  they  met  with  on  this  tour 
will  form  the  subject  of  another  volume  of  this 
series. 


Bollo's  tour  in  Europe. 


rt~ 
^±& 


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